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C&e  Ltbrarp 

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Onitoersttp  of  Jf3ort&  Carolina 


<gift  from  Vt)z 

^outturn  Pitu0  Eibratp 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C,  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00022092851 


This  BOOK  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,    and    is    subject   to   a    fine    of    FIVE 

CENTS  a  day  thereafter.    It  was  taken  out  on 
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Restaurant  (Cafe)  on  the  Boulevards.     Page  223. 


3321 SHELD0^  &  co+,  ^  p 


||i|ll|plll9  PUBLISHERS,  ST.  Y.  WgSr^^Mv 


ROLLO   IN  PARIS, 


JACOB     ABBOTT 


— -»+»3=«fr4SS>«- 


NEW  YORK: 
SHELDON  &  CO.,  667  BROADWAY, 

AND  214  &  216  MERCER   ST., 
Grand  Central  Hotel. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858,  by 

JACOB     ABBOTT, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 


PRINCIPAL    PERSONS   OF   THE   STORY, 

Rollo  ;  twelve  years  of  age. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holiday  ;  Rollo's  father  and  mother,  travel- 
ling in  Europe. 
Thanny  ;  Rollo's  younger  brother. 

Jane;  Rollo's  cousin,  adopted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holiday. 
Mr.  George  ;  a  young  gentleman,  Rollo's  uncle. 


CONTENTS. 


(JHAPTEB 

I.  —  The  Arrangements. 
II.  —  Crossing  the  Channel, 
HI.  —  Journey  to  Paris,    . 
IV.  —  The  Garden  of  the  Tuileries, 
V.  —  The  Eltsian  Fields, 
VI.  —  A  Great  Mistake, 

VII.  —  Carlos, 

Vm.  —  The  Garden  of  Plants, 
IX.  —  An  Excursion,   .... 
X.  —  Eollo's  Narrative,       .        .        . 
XI.  —  Conclusion,        .... 


FAOI 
.   11 

34 

.  56 

80 

.  100 

122 
.  143 

162 
.  183 

202 
.  222 


— -H-S©&+~ — 

ENGRAVINGS. 

Frontispiece.  page 

The  Dinner  at  New  Haven, 32 

Entering  Dieppe, 49 

The  Arrival, .77 

The  Obelisk, 105 

The  Hippodrome, 140 

The  Restaurant, 179 

Singing  in  the  open  Air, 197 

Performance  on  the  Boulevards,        ....      219 


(10) 


KOLLO    IN    PARIS. 

Chapter    I. 
The    Arrangements. 

Dining  in  London.  The  Strand. 

GENTLEMEN  and  ladies  at  the  hotels,  in 
London,  generally  dine  about  six  or  seven 
o'clock,  each  party  or  family  by  themselves,  in 
their  own  private  parlor.  One  evening,  about 
eight  o'clock,  just  after  the  waiter  had  removed 
the  cloth  from  the  table  where  Rollo's  father  and 
mother,  with  Rollo  himself  and  his  cousin  Jen- 
nie, had  been  dining,  and  left  the  table  clear,  Mr 
Holiday  rose,  and  walked  slowly  and  feebly  — 
for  he  was  quite  out  of  health,  though  much 
better  than  he  had  been  —  towards  a  secretary 
which  stood  at  the  side  of  the  room. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  we  will  get  out  the  map  and 
the  railway  guide,  and  see  about  the  ways  of 
getting  to  France." 

Rollo  and  Jennie  were  at  this  time  at  the 
window,   looking   at   the   vehicles   which   wero 

(») 


12  Rollo   in   Paris. 

Mr.  Holiday's  intimation.  Studying  tho  route. 

passing  by  along  the  Strand.  The  Strand  is  a 
street  of  London,  and  one  of  the  most  lively 
and  crowded  of  them  all.  As  soon  as  Rollo 
heard  his  father  say  that  he  was  going  to  get  the 
map  and  the  railway  guide,  he  said  to  Jane,  — 

"  Let's  go  and  see." 

So  they  both  went  to  the  table,  and  there, 
kneeling  up  upon  two  cushioned  chairs  which 
they  brought  forward  for  the  purpose,  they 
leaned  over  upon  the  table  where  their  father 
was  spreading  out  the  map,  and  thus  established 
themselves  very  comfortably  as  spectators  of  the 
proceedings. 

"  Children,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  do  you  come 
here  to  listen,  or  to  talk?" 

"  To  listen,"  said  Rollo. 

"  0,  very  well,"  said  Mr.  Holiday ;  "  then  1 
am  glad  that  you  have  come." 

In  obedience  to  this  intimation,  Rollo  and 
Jane  took  care  not  to  interrupt  Mr.  Holiday 
even  to  ask  a  question,  but  looked  on  and 
listened  very  patiently  and  attentively  for  near- 
ly half  an  hour,  while  he  pointed  out  to  Mrs. 
Holiday  the  various  routes,  and  ascertained 
from  the  guide  books  the  times  at  which  the 
trains  set  out,  and  the  steamers  sailed,  for  each 
of  them,  and  also  the  cost  of  getting  to  Paris 
by  the   several   lines.     If    the    readers  of  this 


The   Arrangements.  13 

The  English  Channel.  The  Straits  of  Dover. 

hook  were  themselves  actually  in  London,  and 
were  going  to  Paris,  as  Rollo  and  Jennie  were, 
they  would  be  interested,  perhaps,  in  having  all 
this  information  laid  before  them  in  full  detail. 
As  it  is,  however,  all  that  will  be  necessary,  prob- 
ably, is  to  give  such  a  general  statement  of  the 
case  as  will  enable  them  to  understand  the  story. 
By  looking  at  any  map  of  Europe,  it  will  be 
seen  that  England  is  separated  from  France  by 
the  English  Channel,  a  passage  which,  though  it 
looks  quite  narrow  on  the  map,  is  really  very 
wide,  especially  toward  the  west.  The  narrow- 
est place  is  between  Dover  and  Calais,  where 
the  distance  across  is  only  about  twenty-two 
miles.  This  narrow  passage  is  called  the  Straits 
of  Dover.  It  would  have  been  very  convenient 
for  travellers  that  have  to  pass  between  Lon- 
don and  Paris  if  this  strait  had  happened  to 
lie  in  the  line,  or  nearly  in  the  line,  between 
these  two  cities  ;  but  it  does  not.  It  lies  con- 
siderably to  the  eastward  of  it ;  so  that,  to  cross 
the  channel  at  the  narrowest  part,  requires  that 
the  traveller  should  take  quite  a  circuit  round. 
To  go  by  the  shortest  distance,  it  is  necessary  to 
cross  the  channel  at  a  place  where  Dieppe  is  the 
harbor,  on  the  French  side,  and  New  Haven  on 
the  English.  There  are  other  places  of  cross- 
ing, some  of  which  arc  attended  with  one  ad 


14  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Comparing  the  routes.  The  cheapest  line. 

vantage,  and  others  with  another.  In  some,  the 
harbors  are  not  good,  and  the  passengers  have 
to  go  off  in  small  boats,  at  certain  times  of  tide, 
to  get  to  the  steamers.  In  others,  the  steamers 
leave  only  when  the  tide  serves,  which  may 
happen  to  come  at  a  very  inconvenient  hour. 
In  a  word,  it  is  alway3  quite  a  study  with 
tourists,  when  they  are  ready  to  leave  London 
for  Paris,  to  determine  by  which  of  the  various 
lines  it  will  be  best  for  their  particular  party, 
under  the  particular  circumstances  in  which 
they  are  placed,  to  go. 

After  ascertaining  all  the  facts  very  carefully, 
and  all  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
each  particular  line,  Mr.  Holiday  asked  his  wife 
what  she  thought  they  had  better  do. 

"  The  cheapest  line  is  by  the  way  of  New 
Haven,"  said  Mrs.  Holiday. 

"  That's  of  no  consequence,  I  think,  now,"  said 
Mr.  Holiday.   "  The  difference  is  not  very  great." 

"  For  our  whole  party,  it  will  make  four  or 
five  pounds,"  said  Mrs.  Holiday. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  I  am  travelling 
to  recover  my  health,  and  every  thing  must  give 
way  to  that.  If  I  can  only  get  well,  I  can  earn 
money  fast  enough,  when  I  go  home,  to  replace 
what  we  expend.  The  only  question  is,  Which 
way  will  be  the  pleasantest  and  the  most  com- 
fortable ?  " 


The  Arrangements, 


The  point  settled.  Rollo's  request, 

"  Then,"  said  Mrs.  Holiday,  "  I  think  we  had 
better  go  by  the  way  of  Dover  and  Calais, 
where  we  have  the  shortest  passage  by  sea." 

"  I  think  so  too,"  said  Mr.  Holiday  ;  "  so  that 
point  is  settled." 

"  Father,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  wish  you  would  let 
Jennie  and  me  go  to  Paris  by  ourselves  alone, 
some  other  way." 

The  reader  who  has  perused  the  narrative  of 
Hollo's  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  will  remem- 
ber that,  through  a  very  peculiar  combination 
of  circumstances,  he  was  left  to  make  that 
voyage  under  his  own  charge,  without  having 
any  one  to  take  care  of  him.  He  was  so  much 
pleased  with  the  result  of  that  experiment,  and 
was  so  proud  of  his  success  in  acting  as  Jennie's 
protector,  that  he  was  quite  desirous  of  trying 
such  an  experiment  again. 

"  0,  no ! "  said  his  father. 

"Why,  father,  I  got  along  well  enough  in 
coming  over,"  replied  Rollo. 

"  True,"  said  his  father ;  "  and  if  any  acci- 
dent, or  any  imperious  necessity,  should  lead 
to  your  setting  out  for  Paris  without  any  escort, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  you  would  get  through 
Bafely.  But  it  is  one  thing  for  a  boy  to  be  put 
into  such  a  situation  by  some  unforeseen  and 
unexpected  contingency,  and  quite  another  thing 


16  Rollo   in  Paris. 

His  father's  reply.  Mrs.  Holiday's  decision. 

for  his  father  deliberately  to  form  such  a  plan 
for  him." 

Rollo  looked  a  little  disappointed,  but  he  did 
not  reply.  In  fact,  he  felt  that  his  father  was 
right. 

"  But  I'll  tell  you,"  added  Mr.  Holiday.  "If 
your  uncle  George  is  willing  to  go  by  some  dif- 
ferent route  from  ours,  you  may  go  with  him." 

"  And  Jennie  ?  "  inquired  Rollo. 

"  Why  !  Jennie  ?  "  repeated  Mr.  Holiday,  hes- 
itating. "  Let  me  think.  Yes,  Jennie  may  go 
with  you,  if  she  pleases,  if  her  mother  is  will- 
ing." 

Jennie  always  called  Mrs.  Holiday  her  mother, 
although  she  was  really  her  aunt. 

"  Are  you  willing,  mother,"  asked  Rollo,  very 
eagerly. 

Mrs.  Holiday  was  at  a  loss  what  to  say.  She 
was  very  desirous  to  please  Rollo,  and  at  the 
same  time  she  wished  very  much  to  have  Jennie 
go  with  her.  However,  she  finally  decided  the 
question  by  saying  that  Jennie  might  go  with 
whichever  party  she  pleased. 

Hollo's  uncle  George  had  not  been  long  in 
England.  He  had  come  out  from  America  some 
time  after  Rollo  himself  did,  so  that  Rollo  had 
not  travelled  with  him  a  great  deal.  Mr. 
George  was  quite  young,  though  he  was  a  great 


The  Arrangements.  17 

Mr.  George.  Rollo's  a-guments. 

deal  older  than  Rollo  —  too  old  to  be  much  of  a 
companion  for  his  nephew.  Rollo  liked  him 
very  much,  because  he  was  always  kind  to  him  ; 
but  there  was  no  very  great  sympathy  between 
them,  for  Mr.  George  was  never  much  interested 
in  such  things  as  would  please  a  boy.  Besides, 
he  was  always  very  peremptory  and  decisive, 
though  always  just,  in  his  treatment  of  Rollo, 
whenever  he  had  him  under  his  charge.  Rollo 
was,  however,  very  glad  when  his  father  con- 
sented that  he  and  his  uncle  George  might  go  to 
Paris  together. 

Mr.  George  was  out  that  day,  and  he  did  not 
come  home  until  Rollo  had  gone  to  bed.  Rollo, 
however,  saw  him  early  the  next  morning,  and 
told  him  what  his  father  had  said. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  after  hearing  his 
story,  "  and  what  do  you  propose  that  we  should 
do?" 

"  I  propose  that  you,  and  Jennie,  and  I  should 
go  by  the  way  of  New  Haven  and  Dieppe,"  re- 
plied Rollo. 

"  Why  ?  "  said  Mr.  George. 

"  You  see  it  is  cheaper  that  way,"  said  Rollo. 
"  We  can  go  that  way  for  twenty-four  shillings. 
It  costs  two  and  three  pounds  by  the  othei 
ways." 

"  That's  a  consideration,"  said  Mr.  George. 


18  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Mr.  George's  decision.  Jennie  at  a  loss. 

"  For  the  pound  you  would  save,"  said  Rollo 
"  you  could  buy  a  very  handsome  book  in  Par- 
is." 

Rollo  suggested  these  considerations  because 
he  had  often  heard  his  uncle  argue  in  this  way 
before.  He  had  himself  another  and  a  secret 
reason  why  he  wished  to  go  by  the  New  Haven 
route  ;  but  we  are  all  very  apt,  when  giving 
reasons  to  others,  to  present  such  as  we  think 
will  influence  them,  and  not  those  which  really 
influence  us. 

Mr.  George  looked  into  the  guide  book  at  the 
pages  which  Rollo  pointed  out,  and  found  that  it 
was  really  as  Rollo  had  said. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I'll  go  that  way  with  you." 

So  that  was  settled,  too. 

A  short  time  after  this  conversation,  Rollo's 
father  and  mother,  and  also  Jennie,  came  in. 
Mr.  Holiday  rang  the  bell  for  the  waiter  to 
bring  up  breakfast.  Jennie,  when  she  found 
that  it  was  really  decided  that  her  father  and 
mother  were  to  go  one  way,  and  her  uncle 
George  and  Rollo  another,  was  quite  at  a  loss 
to  determine  which  party  she  herself  should 
join.  She  thought  very  justly  that  there  would 
probably  be  more  incident  and  adventure  to  be 
met  with  in  going  with  Rollo  ;  but  then,  on  the 
other  hand,  she  was  extremely  unwilling  to  be 


The  Arrangements.  19 

Mr.  Holiday's  objection  to  the  plan. 

separated  from  her  mother.  She  stood  by  her 
mother's  side,  leaning  toward  her  in  an  attitude 
of  confiding  and  affectionate  attachment,  while 
the  others  were  talking  about  the  details  of  the 
plan. 

"  I  rather  think  there  is  one  thing  that  you 
have  forgotten,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  and  which, 
it  strikes  me,  is  a  decided  objection  to  your  plan  ; 
and  that  is,  that  the  steamer  for  to-morrow,  from 
New  Haven,  leaves  at  midnight." 

"  That's  the  very  reason  why  I  wanted  to  go 
that  way,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Why,  Rollo  !  "  exclaimed  his  mother. 

;'  Yes,  mother,"  said  Rollo.  "  There  would  be 
so  much  fun  in  setting  out  at  midnight.  Think, 
Jennie ! "  added  Rollo,  addressing  his  cousin, 
"  we  should  sit  up  till  midnight !  And  then  to 
see  all  the  people  going  on  board  by  the  light 
of  lanterns  and  torches.  I  wonder  if  there'll 
be  a  moon.  Let's  look  in  the  almanac,  and  see 
if  there'll  be  a  moon." 

"  But,  George,"  said  Mrs.  Holiday,  "  you  will 
not  wish  to  set  off  at  midnight.  I  think  you 
liad  better  change  your  plan,  after  all." 

But  Mr.  George  did  not  seem  to  think  that 
the  midnight  departure  of  the  boat  was  any 
objection  to  the  New  Haven  plan.  He  had  no 
ticed  that  that  was  the   time   set  for  leaving 

B 


20  Rollo   in    Paris. 

Advantages  of  the  route.  The  arrangements  made. 

New  Haven  the  next  night,  and  he  thought  that, 
on  the  whole,  the  arrangement  would  suit  his 
plans  very  well.  He  would  have  a  good  long 
evening  to  write  up  his  journal,  which  he  said 
was  getting  rather  behindhand.  The  water, 
too,  would  be  more  likely  to  be  smooth  in  tho 
night,  so  that  there  would  be  less  danger  of  sea- 
sickness. Besides,  he  thought  that  both  Rollo 
and  himself  would  become  very  sleepy  by  sit- 
ting up  so  late,  and  so  would  fall  directly  to 
sleep  as  soon  as  they  got  into  their  berths  on 
board  the  steamer,  and  sleep  quietly  till  they 
began  to  draw  near  to  the  coast  of  France. 
The  distance  across  the  channel,  at  that  point, 
was  such,  that  the  steamer,  in  leaving  at  mid- 
night, would  not  reach  Dieppe  till  five  or  six 
o'clock  the  next  morning. 

Accordingly,  the  arrangements  were  all  made 
for  Rollo's  departure  the  next  day,  with  his 
uncle  George,  for  New  Haven.  Jennie  finally 
decided  to  go  with  her  father  and  mother.  The 
idea  of  sailing  at  midnight  determined  her  ;  for 
suck  an  adventure,  attractive  as  it  was  in  Rol- 
lo's eyes,  seemed  quite  formidable  in  hers.  Rol- 
lo had  a  very  pleasant  ride  to  New  Haven,  amus- 
ing himself  all  the  way  with  the  beauties  of 
English  scenery  and  the  continual  novelties 
that  every  where  met  his  eye.     When  they  at 


Tub  Arrangements.  21 

New  Haven  and  its  harbor  described. 

last  arrived  at  New  Haven,  they  found  that  the 
harbor  consisted  merely  of  a  straight,  artificial 
canal,  cut  in  from  the  sea,  where  probably  some 
small  stream  had  originally  issued.  The  sides 
of  this  harbor  were  lined  with  piers,  and  on  one 
of  the  piers  was  a  great  hotel,  forming  a  part, 
as  it  were,  of  the  railway  station.  There  were 
a  few  houses  and  other  buildings  near,  but  there 
was  no  town  to  be  seen.  The  railway  was  on 
one  side  of  the  hotel,  and  the  water  was  on  the 
other.  When  the  train  stopped,  one  of  the 
railway  servants  opened  the  door  for  Mr. 
George  and  Rollo  to  get  out,  and  Mr.  George 
went  directly  into  the  hotel  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  rooms  and  for  dinner,  while  Rollo, 
eager  to  see  the  ships  and  the  water,  went 
through  the  house  to  the  pier  on  the  other  side. 
He  found  that  there  was  a  pretty  broad  space 
on  the  pier,  between  the  hotel  and  the  water, 
with  a  shed  upon  it  for  merchandise,  and  extra 
tracks  for  freight  trains.  The  water  was  quite 
low  in  the  harbor,  and  the  few  vessels  that  were 
lying  at  the  pier  walls  were  mostly  grounded  in 
the  mud.  There  was  one  steamboat  lying  oppo- 
site the  hotel,  but  it  was  down  so  low  that,  at 
first,  Rollo  could  only  see  the  top  of  the  smoke- 
pipe.  Rollo  went  to  the  brink  of  the  pier  and 
looked  down.    The  steamer  appeared  very  small 


J22  Rollo  in   Paris. 

The  hotel.  The  coffee  room. 

It  was  painted  black.  There  were  very  few 
people  on  board.  Rollo  had  a  great  mind  to  go 
on  board  himself,  as  there  was  a  plank  leading 
down  from  the  pier  to  the  top  of  the  paddle 
box.  But  it  looked  rather  steep,  and  so  Rollo 
concluded  to  postpone  going  on  board  till  Mr. 
George  should  come  out  with  him  after  dinner. 

Rollo  looked  about  upon  the  pier  a  few  min- 
utes, and  then  went  into  the  hotel.  He  passed 
through  a  spacious  hall,  and  then  through  a  pas- 
sage way,  from  which  he  could  look  into  a  large 
room,  the  sides  of  which  were  formed  of  glass, 
so  that  the  people  who  were  in  the  room  could 
see  out  all  around  them.  The  front  of  the  room 
looked  out  upon  the  pier,  the  back  side  upon 
the  passage  way.  A  third  side  was  toward  the 
vestibule,  and  the  fourth  toward  the  coffee 
room.  There  were  shelves  around  this  room, 
within,  and  tables,  and  desks,  and  people  going 
to  and  fro  there.  In  fact,  it  seemed  to  be  the 
office  of  the  hotel. 

Rollo  advanced  to  one  of  the  openings  that 
was  toward  the  passage  way,  and  asked  which 
was  the  way  to  the  coffee  room.  The  girl 
pointed  to  the  door  which  led  to  it,  and  Rollo 
went  in. 

He  found  a  large  and  beautiful  room,  with 
several  tables  set  for  dinner  in  different  parts  of 


The   Arrangements.  23 


Arranging  the  accounts.  Travelling  expenses. 

it,  and  sideboards  covered  with  silver,  and 
glasses  against  the  walls.  On  one  side  there 
were  several  large  and  beautiful  windows,  which 
looked  out  upon  the  pier,  and  opposite  to  each 
of  these  windows  was  a  small  dinner  table,  large 
enough,  however,  for  two  persons.  Mr.  George 
had  taken  one  of  these  tables,  and  when  Rollo 
came  in  he  was  sitting  near  it,  reading  a  news- 
paper. 

"  Come,  Rollo,"  said  he,  "  I  have  ordered  din- 
ner, and  we  shall  just  have  time  to  arrange  our 
accounts  while  they  are  getting  it  ready." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  took  out  his  pocket 
book,  and  also  a  small  pocket  inkstand,  and  a 
pen,  and  put  them  all  upon  the  table. 

"  Your  father's  plan,"  he  continued,"  is  this  : 
He  is  to  pay  all  expenses  of  transportation,  at 
the  same  rate  that  he  pays  for  himself;  so  that, 
whatever  you  save  by  travelling  in  cheap  ways, 
is  your  own." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  smiling,  "  I  mean  to  walk 
sometimes,  and  save  it  all." 

"  He  is  also  to  pay  the  expense  of  your  lodg- 
ings." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Generally,  of  course,  you  will  have  lodgings 
with  him,  but  sometimes  you  will  be  away  from 
him  ;  as,  for  instance,  to-night.  In  such  cases,  I 
pny  for  vour  lodgings,  on  your  father's  account.' 


24  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Casualties.  Mr.  George's  opinion. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  understand  that." 

"  He  also  pays  the  expense  of  all  casualties." 

"  So  he  said,"  replied  Rollo  ;  "  but  I  don't 
understand  what  he  means  by  that,  very  well." 

"  Why,  you  may  meet  with  accidents  that  will 
cost  money  to  repair,  or  get  into  difficulties 
which  will  require  money  to  get  out  of.  For 
instance,  you  may  lose  your  ticket,  and  so  have 
to  pay  twice  over  ;  or  you  may  get  lost  yourself, 
in  Paris,  and  so  have  to  hire  a  man  with  a  car- 
riage to  bring  you  home.  For  all  such  things, 
the  money  is  not  to  come  from  your  purse. 
Your  father  will  pay." 

"  Suppose  it  is  altogether  my  fault,"  said  Rol- 
lo.    "  Then  I  think  I  ought  to  pay." 

"  But  your  father  said  that  he  was  sure  you 
would  not  be  to  blame  for  such  accidents  ;  though 
I  think  he  is  mistaken  there.  I  have  no  doubt, 
myself,  that  nearly  all  the  accidents  that  will 
happen  to  you  will  come  from  boyish  heedless- 
ness and  blundering  on  your  part." 

"  We'll  see,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  we'll  see." 

-<  Then,  as  to  your  board,"  continued  Mr. 
George,  "  your  father  said  that  you  might  do  as 
you  pleased  about  that.  He  would  pay  it,  or  you 
might,  and  be  allowed  five  francs  a  day  for  it." 

"Five  francs  is  about  a  dollar,  is  it  not?" 
asked  Rollo. 


The   Arrangements.  25 

Value  of  a  franc.  Boarding  at  Paris. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  very  nearly 
Put  you  had  better  not  reckon  by  dollars,  now. 
at  all,  but  by  francs  altogether.    That's  a  franc." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  took  a  silver  coin  out 
of  his  pocket,  and  showed  it  to  Rollo.  It  waa 
nearly  as  large  as  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  or 
an  English  shilling,  but  not  quite.  A  quarter 
of  a  dollar  is  worth  twenty-five  cents,  an  Eng- 
lish shilling  twenty-four,  and  a  franc  about 
twenty  cents. 

"  You  can  have  five  of  those  a  day  to  pay 
your  own  board  with." 

"  And  how  much  would  it  cost  me  at  a  board- 
ing house,  in  Paris,  to  pav  mv  board  ?  "  asked 
Hollo. 

"  Why,  we  don't  board  at  boarding  houses  in 
Paris,"  said  Mr.  George.  "We  have  rooms  at 
a  hotel,  and  then  we  get  breakfast  and  dinner 
wherever  we  please,  at  coifee  rooms  and  dining 
rooms  all  over  the  city,  wherever  we  happen  to 
be,  or  wherever  we  take  a  fancy  to  go.  You 
can  get  a  very  excellent  breakfast  for  a  franc 
and  a  half.  A  beefsteak,  or  an  omelet,  and 
bread  and  butter  and  coffee." 

"That's  enough  for  breakfast,"  said  Rollo. 
"  And  then,  dinner  ?  " 

"  You  can  get  a  first-rate  dinner  for  two 
francs,  or  even  less.  That  makes  three  francs 
and  a  half." 


26  Rollo  in  Paris. 

French  tea.  Calculations. 

"And  tea?" 

"  They  never  take  tea  in  Paris,"  said  Mr, 
George.     "  The  French  don't  take  tea." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  unless 
it  is  because  the  English  do.  Whatever  is  done 
in  London,  you  generally  find  that  just  the  con- 
trary is  done  in  Paris." 

"  Don't  we  have  any  thing,  then,  after  din- 
ner ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  The  French  gen- 
erally go  and  take  a  seat  at  a  little  round  table 
on  the  sidewalk,  and  have  a  little  glass  of  bran- 
dy and  a  cigar." 

Here  Rollo  threw  his  head  back,  and  laughed 
loud  and  long.  He  was  greatly  amused  at  the 
idea  of  his  making  an  allowance,  in  calculating 
how  far  his  five  francs  would  go,  for  a  glass  of 
branny  and  a  cigar.  Mr.  George  himself,  se 
date  as  he  was,  could  not  but  smile. 

"  The  fact  is,"  said  he,  at  length,  "  there  are 
only  two  meals  to  calculate  for,  and  they  will 
not  cost,  upon  an  average,  more  than  three 
francs  and  a  half,  if  we  are  prudent  and  econom- 
ical, and  go  to  plain  and  not  expensive  places. 
But  then  there  is  the  immense  amount  that  you 
will  be  always  wishing  to  spend  for  cakes,  and 
candy,  and  oranges,  and  nuts,  and  bonbons  of 


The  Arrangements.  27 

Rollo's  decision.  Incidentals 

all  sorts  and  kinds.  There  is  an  endless  variety 
of  such  things  in  Paris.  You  will  find  half  a 
dozen  cake  shops  in  every  street,  with  fifty  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  gingerbread  and  cake  in  them, 
all  of  the  richest  and  most  delicious  descrip- 
tion." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  shall  want  some  of 
those  things." 

"  No  doubt,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  you  will  make 
yourself  sick  eating  them,  I'll  venture  to  say, 
before  you  have  been  in  Paris  twenty-four 
hours." 

"  No,"  said  Rollo,  shaking  his  head  resolutely  ; 
"  and  I  think  I  had  better  take  the  five  francs 
and  pay  my  own  board." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  that  pro- 
vides for  every  thing  except  incidentals.  Your 
father  said  that  I  might  pay  you  five  francs  a 
day  for  incidentals  and  pocket  money.  That  is 
to  include  all  your  personal  expenses  of  every 
kind,  except  what  we  have  already  provided  for. 
There  will  be  excursions,  and  tickets  to  concerts 
and  shows,  and  carriage  hire,  and  toys  that  you 
will  want  to  buy,  and  all  such  things.  The 
amount  of  it  is,  that  your  father  pays  all  youi 
expenses  for  transportation,  for  lodging,  and  foi 
casualties.  You  pay  every  thing  else,  and  are 
allowed  ten  francs  a  day  for  it.     I  am  to  be 


28  Rollo   in   Paris. 

A  centime.  Two  sii|>|>ositiciiia. 

treasurer,  and  to  have  the  whole  charge  of  your 
funds,  except  so  far  as  I  find  it  prudent  and  safe 
to  intrust  them  to  you,  and  you  are  to  buy 
nothing  at  all  against  my  consent." 

"  Nothing  at  all  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "nothing  at  all.  You 
are  not  to  expend  a  single  centime  in  any  way 
that  I  object  to." 

"  What  is  a  centime  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  It  is  of  the  value  of  less  than  one  fourth  of 
a  cent,"  replied  Mr.  George. 

"But  I  should  think  I  might  buy  such  little 
things  as  that  would  come  to,  of  myself,"  said 
Rollo.  "  Suppose  I  should  wish  to  buy  a  small 
piece  of  gingerbread  for  a  cent." 

"  Say  for  a  sou,"  *  replied  Mr.  George.  "  There 
are  no  cents  in  Paris." 

"  Well,"  rejoined  Rollo,  "  suppose  I  should 
wish  to  spend  a  sou  for  gingerbread,  and  eat  it, 
and  you  should  object  to  it." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  Mr.  George  ;  "  and  sup- 
pose you  were  to  wish  to  spend  a  sou  for  poison,  , 
and  drink  it." 

"  But  I  should  not  be  likely  to  buy  poison/' 
said  Rollo,  laughing. 

"Nor  should  I  be  likely  to   object  to  youi 

*  Pronounced   suo. 


The   Arrangements.  29 

Absolute  control.  Opening  an  account 

buying  gingerbread,"  rejoined  Mr.  George.  "  A 
boy,  however,  may,  it  is  clear,  do  mischief  with 
a  little  money  as  well  as  with  a  great  deal ;  and, 
therefore,  the  power  in  his  guardian  should  be 
absolute  and  entire.  At  any  rate,  so  it  is  in 
this  case.  If  I  see  fit  to  forbid  your  expending 
a  single  sou  for  any  thing  whatever,  I  can,  and 
you  will  have  no  remedy  till  we  see  your  father 
again  ;  and  then  you  can  ask  him  to  put  you 
under  some  other  person's  care.  Until  he  does 
this,  however,  the  control  is  absolute  and  entire 
in  my  hands.  I  would  not  take  charge  of  a  boy 
on  any  other  terms." 

"Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  agree  to  it." 
"  And  now,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  am  ready  to 
begin  your  account." 

Mr.  George  then  took  a  small  account  book 
from  his  pocket  book  as  he  said  this,  and,  open- 
ing it  at  the  beginning,  he  wrote  across  the  top 
of  the  two  pages  which  came  together  the  words, 

Rollo  Holiday,  in  Jlccount  with  his  Father. 

On  the  corner  of  the  left-hand  page  he  wrote 
Dr.,  which  stands  for  debtor  ;  and  on  that  of  the 
right-hand  page,  Cr.,  which  stands  for  creditor. 
"  There,"  said  he,  "  now  I  shall  enter,  from 
time  to  time,  on  the  creditor  side,  all  the  money 
that  becomes  due  to  you  ;  and  on  the  debtor  side, 


BO  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Striking  a  balance.  Rollo'a  allowance. 

all  that  I  pay  to  you.  Then,  by  striking  a  bal- 
ance, we  can  always  tell  how  much  of  your 
money  there  is  in  my  hands. 

"  Let  me  see,"  continued  Mr.  George.  "  Your 
father  and  mother  concluded  finally  to  go  by  the 
way  of  Folkstone.  The  fare  that  way  is  two 
pound  eleven.  This  way,  it  is  one  pound  four. 
I  am  to  pay  you  the  difference.  The  difference 
is  one  pound  seven  ;  and  one  pound  seven,  in 
francs,  is  —  let  me  see  how  much." 

Mr.  George  made  a  calculation  with  a  pencil 
and  paper,  and  found  that  it  amounted  to  thirty- 
three  francs  seventy -five  centimes. 

"  I  don't  understand  reckoning  by  francs  and 
centimes  very  well,"  said  Rollo. 

"  No,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  that  is  your  mis- 
fortune ;  and  you'll  have  to  bear  it  as  well  as 
you  can  till  you  get  out  of  it." 

So  Mr.  George  entered  the  francs  —  thirty- 
three  seventy-five — in  Rollo's  book. 

"  You  have  got  thirty-three  francs  to  begin 
with,"  said  he  ;  "  that's  a  pretty  good  stock. 

"  Now,  there  is  your  allowance  of  ten  franca 
per  day.  I  will  enter  that  weekly.  There  are 
three  days  in  this  week,  including  to-day  and 
Sunday.     That  makes  thirty  francs." 

So  Mr.  George  entered  the  thirty  francs. 

"  There,"  said  he,  "  the  whole  amount  due  you 


The  Arrangements.  31 

Mr.  George  makes  Rollo  a  payment. 

up  to  Monday  morning  is  sixty-three  franca 
seventy-five  centimes.  That  is  sixty-three  franca 
and  three  fourths.  A  hundred  centimes  make  a 
franc. 

"  And  now,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  I  will 
make  you  a  payment,  so  as  to  put  you  in  funds, 
and  that  must  be  put  down  on  the  other  side. 
How  much  would  you  like  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  a  few  francs,  I 
suppose." 

"  Have  you  got  a  purse  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 
"  Let  me  see  it." 

So  Rollo  took  out  a  small  leather  bag  which 
he  had  bought  in  London. 

"  That's  it,"  said  Mr.  George.  "I'll  give  you 
ten  francs.  When  you  want  more,  you  can  have 
it —  that  is,  provided  it  is  due  to  you." 

Here  Mr.  George  rang  a  bell,  and  a  waiter 
came  in  immediately.  Mr.  George  handed  the 
waiter  a  sovereign,  and  asked  him  to  get  change 
for  it  in  French  money.  The  waiter  took  the 
money,  and  presently  came  in  with  five  five- 
franc  pieces.  These  he  presented  very  re- 
spectfully to  Mr.  George.  Mr.  George  took 
two  of  them  and  gave  them  to  Rollo.  The 
others  he  put  into  his  own  pocket.  The  five- 
franc  pieces  were  very  bright  and  new,  and  they 
were  of  about  the  size  of  silver  dollars.     Rollo 


32 


Rollo  in   Paris. 


Final  directions. 


The  restriction  explained. 


was  very  much  pleased  with  his  portion,  and  put 
them  in  his  purse,  quite  proud  of  having  so 
much  spending  money. 

"  And  you  say  that  I  must  not  spend  any  of  it 
without  first  asking  you,"  said  Rollo. 

"  0,  no,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  I  have  not  said 
any  such  thing.  That  would  be  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  both  for  you  and  for  me." 

"  But  I  thought  you  said  that  I  was  not  to 
spend  any  thing  without  your  consent." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  said  against  my 
consent.     I  may  forbid  your  spending  whenevei 


THE  DINNER  AT  NEW  HAVEN. 


The   Arrangements, 


33 


The  entrance  of  the  waiter  puts  an  end  to  the  conversation 

I  think  proper  ;  but  I  shall  not  do  so,  so  long  as 
I  find  you  always  ask  me  in  doubtful  cases. 
Spend  for  yourself  freely,  whenever  you  are  sure 
it  is  right.  When  you  are  not  sure,  ask  me.  If 
I  find  you  abuse  the  privilege,  I  shall  have  to 
restrict  you.     Otherwise,  not." 

Rollo  was  well  satisfied  with  this  understand- 
ing of  the  case  ;  and  just  then  the  waiter  came  in, 
bearing  a  handsome  silver  tureen  containing 
soup,  which  he  put  down  upon  the  table,  be- 
tween Mr.  George  and  Rollo.  So  the  writing 
materials  and  the  purses  were  put  away,  and  the 
two  travellers  were  soon  occupied  very  busily 
in  eating  their  dinner. 


34  Rollo  in  Paris, 


The  reasons  for  the  financial  arrangements  explained. 


Chapter    II. 

Crossing  the   Channel. 

Mr.  Holiday  had  two  reasons  for  making  the 
arrangements  described  in  the  last  chapter,  in 
respect  to  Rollo's  expenses.  In  the  first  place, 
it  would  gratify  Rollo  himself,  who  would  feel 
more  independent,  and  more  like  a  man,  he 
thought,  in  being  allowed  thus,  in  some  measure, 
to  have  the  charge  and  control  of  his.  own  ex- 
penditures. But  his  second  and  principal  reason 
was,  that  he  might  accustom  his  son,  in  early 
life,  to  bear  pecuniary  responsibilities,  and  to 
exercise  judgment  and  discretion  in  the  use  of 
money.  Many  young  men  never  have  any  train- 
ing of  this  sort  till  they  become  of  age.  Be- 
fore that  time,  whenever  they  wish  for  money, 
they  go  to  their  father  and  ask  for  it.  They 
take  all  they  can  get ;  and  when  that  is  gone, 
they  go  and  ask  for  more.  They  have  no  direct 
personal  motive  for  exercising  prudence  and 
economy,  and  they  have  no  experience  of  the 
evils  that  result  from  thriftlessness   and  prod* 


Crossing  the   Channel.  35 

Rollo  and  Mr.  George  decide  upon  taking  a  walk. 

igality.  It  is  much  better  for  all  children  that 
they  should  have  pecuniary  responsibilities,  such 
as  are  suited  to  their  years,  thrown  upon  them 
in  their  youth,  when  the  mistakes  they  make  in 
acquiring  their  experience  are  of  little  moment. 
The  same  mistakes  made  after  they  become  of 
age  might  be  their  ruin. 

In  carrying  the  system  into  effect  in  Hollo's 
case,  there  seemed  to  be  something  very  abrupt, 
at  least,  if  not  positively  harsh,  in  Mr.  George's 
mode  of  dealing  with  him.  And  yet  Rollo  did 
not  dislike  it.  He  felt  that  his  uncle  was  treat- 
ing him  more  like  a  man,  on  this  account,  or 
rather  more  like  a  large  boy,  and  not  like  a 
child.  In  fact,  a  part  of  the  rough  handling 
which  Rollo  got  from  his  uncle  was  due  to  this 
very  circumstance  —  Mr.  George  having  ob- 
served that  he  did  not  mind  being  knocked 
about  a  little. 

After  dinner,  Rollo  proposed  to  his  uncle  that 
they  should  go  out  and  take  a  walk. 

"  I  will  go  with  you  a  few  minutes,"  said  Mr. 
George,  "  and  then  I  must  return  to  my  room, 
and  write  up  my  journal." 

"  Say  half  an  hour,"  rejoined  Rollo. 

"  Well,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  we  will  say 
half  an  hour." 

So  they  sallied  forth  upon  the  pier  behind  the 


36  Roll 3   in   Parts. 

The  steamer  "  Is  it  possible  ?  " 

hotel.  Mr.  George  took  a  general  survey  of  the 
harbor,  and  of  the  vessels  that  were  lying  in  it, 
and  also  of  the  peaks  and  headlands  which  were 
seen  at  the  mouth  of  it,  toward  the  sea. 

"  I  should  like  to  be  on  that  hill,"  said  Mr. 
George,  "  to  look  off  over  the  channel,  and  see 
if  I  could  discern  the  coast  of  France  from  it." 

"  Let's  go  there,"  said  Rollo. 

"  That  would  take  more  than  half  an  hour," 
replied  Mr.  George. 

*'  Well,  at  any  rate,  let's  go  on  board  the 
steamer,"  said  Rollo. 

So,  taking  Mr.  George  by  the  hand,  he  led 
him  along  to  the  brink  of  the  pier.  Mr.  George 
looked  over,  and  saw  the  steamer  lying  at  rest 
In  its  muddy  bed  below. 

"  Is  it  possible  ?  "  said  Mr.  George,  in  a  tone 
of  great  astonishment. 

"  Can  it  be  possible  ?  "  repeated  Mr.  George. 

"  What  ?  "  inquired  Rollo.  "  What  is  it  that 
surprises  you  so  much  ?  " 

"  Why,  to  find  such  a  steamer  as  this  for  the 
travel  on  one  of  the  great  thoroughfares  be- 
tween England  and  France.  Let's  go  down  on 
board." 

So  Mr.  George  led  the  way,  and  Rollo  fol- 
lowed down  the  plank.  The  plank  landed  them 
on  the  top  of  the  paddle  box.     From  that  place, 


Crossing  the   Channel.  37 

Tbe  cabin  described.  The  "  captain's  office." 

a  few  steps  led  to  the  deck.  They  walked  along 
the  deck  a  short  distance  toward  the  stern,  and 
there  they  found  a  door,  and  a  small  winding 
staircase  leading  down  into  the  cabin.  They 
descended  these  stairs,  one  before  the  other,  for 
the  space  was  not  wide  enough  to  allow  of  their 
going  together  ;  and  when  they  reached  the  foot 
of  them  they  found  themselves  in  a  small  cabin, 
with  one  tier  of  berths  around  the  sides.  The 
cabin  was  not  high  enough  for  two.  There  were 
berths  for  about  twenty  or  thirty  passengers. 
The  cabin  was  very  neatly  finished  ;  and  there 
was  a  row  of  cushioned  seats  around  it,  in  front 
of  the  berths.  In  one  corner,  by  the  side  of  the 
door  where  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  had  come  in, 
was  a  small  desk,  with  writing  materials  upon  it. 
This  Rollo  supposed  must  be  the  "  captain's 
office." 

While  Mr.  George  sat  surveying  the  scene, 
and  mentally  comparing  this  insignificant  boat 
to  the  magnificent  steamers  on  the  Hudson 
River,  in  America,  with  their  splendid  and  capa- 
cious cabins  on  three  different  decks,  their  prom- 
enade saloons,  sometimes  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  long,  with  ranges  of  elegant  state  rooms  on 
either  hand,  and  sofas,  and  couches,  and  tite-a- 
tetes  without  number,  in  the  middle,  his  perplex- 
ity increased. 


38  Rollo  in  Paris. 

A  comparison.  Choice  of  bertha. 

"  I  do  not  understand  it  at  all,"  said  he  to  Rol- 
lo. "  I  thought  that  there  would  at  least  be  aa 
much  travelling  between  London  and  Paris,  the 
two  greatest  cities  in  the  world,  as  between  New 
York  and  Albany.  And  yet  there  are  half  a 
dozen  steamers  every  day  on  the  North  River, 
carrying  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  pas- 
sengers ;  while  here,  on  the  most  direct  and 
cheapest  route  between  London  and  Paris,  is 
one  single  steamer,  that  could  not  possibly  carry 
one  hundred  passengers,  and  she  only  goes  once 
in  two  days." 

Just  then  a  young  man,  who  seemed  to  be 
the  clerk  of  the  boat,  came  down  the  cabin 
stairs,  and,  seeing  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  there, 
he  asked  them  if  they  had  taken  their  berths. 
They  said  that  they  had  not ;  but  they  immedi- 
ately proceeded  to  choose  their  berths,  or  rather 
their  places,  for  there  were  no  divisions  sep- 
arating the  sleeping-places  from  each  other 
except  what  was  formed  by  the  cushions.  There 
was  a  long  cushion  for  each  sleeper,  covered 
with  crimson  velvet  or  plush  ;  and  a  round  cush- 
ion, shaped  like  a  bolster,  and  covered  in  the 
same  way,  for  his  head.  On  these  cushions  the 
passengers  were  expected  to  lie  down  without 
undressing,  placing  themselves  in  a  row,  head  to 
head,  and  feet  to  feet.     Mr.  George  chose  twc 


Crossing  the   Channel.  39 

Tlie  ferry  boats.  "  What's  the  ferriage  ? " 

of  these  sleeping-places,  one  for  himself,  and  the 
other  for  Rollo,  and  the  clerk  marked  them  with 
a  ticket. 

Our  two  travellers  then  went  up  on  deck 
again,  and  from  the  deck  they  ascended  the 
plank  to  the  pier.  It  was  now  nearly  sunset, 
and  it  was  a  very  pleasant  evening.  They 
sauntered  slowly  along  the  pier,  until  they  came 
to  a  place,  where  some  steps  led  down  to  the 
water.  There  were  several  small  boats  at  the 
foot  of  the  steps,  and  in  one  of  them  was  a  man 
doing  something  to  the  rudder.  Rollo  saw  that 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water  was  another  long 
staircase  leading  down  from  the  bank  there,  so 
as  to  form  a  landing-place  for  small  boats  at  all 
times  of  tide.  He  also  looked  up  and  down  the 
harbor,  but  he  could  see  no  bridge,  and  so  he 
supposed  that  this  must  be  a  sort  of  ferry  for 
the  people  who  wished  to  cross  from  one  side  to 
the  other. 

As  soon  as  the  man  who  was  in  the  boat  saw 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  standing  upon  the  pier, 
he  rose  up  in  his  boat,  and  touching  his  hat  at 
the  same  time,  or  rather  making  a  sort  of  jerk 
with  his  hand,  which  was  meant  to  represent  a 
touch  of  the  hat,  he  asked  him  if  he  would  like 
to  be  rowed  across  to  the  other  side. 

"  Why,  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George. 
'  What's  the  ferriage  ?  " 


•10  Rollo  in  Paris. 

A  conversation.  Passage  engaged. 

"  That's  just  as  the  gentleman  pleases,"  said 
the  man,  with  another  jerk  at  his  hat. 

"And  how  much  do  they  generally  please  ?  " 
6aid  Mr.  George.  "  What's  the  common  cus- 
tom ?  " 

"  0,  gentlemen  gives  us  what  they  likes,"  said 
the  man.  "  We  always  leaves  it  to  them  en- 
tirely." 

Mr.  George  was  silent.  After  a  moment's 
pause,  the  boatman  said  again,  — 

"  Would  you  like  to  go,  sir  ?  Very  nice 
boat." 

"  Not  on  those  terms,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  If 
you  will  tell  me  what  the  usual  ferriage  is,  I  can 
then  tell  you  whether  we  wish  to  go  or  not." 

"  Well,  sir,"  replied  the  man,  "  gentlemen 
usually  gives  us  about  twopence  apiece." 

"  Twopence  apiece.     Very  well,  we  will  go." 

Mr.  George  did  not  wait  to  ask  Rollo  whether 
he  would  like  to  go  before  he  decided  the  ques- 
tion. He  would  have  considered  this  a  mere 
waste  of  time,  for  Rollo  was  always  ready  to  go, 
no  matter  where. 

So  they  got  into  the  boat,  and  were  rowed 
across  the  water.  They  ascended  the  stairs  on 
the  other  side,  and  walked  a  little  way  in  a 
smooth  road  which  led  along  the  bank.  Rollo 
wished  to  go  farther ;  but  Mr.  George  said  that 


Crossing  the   Channel.  <il 

A  loan.  "  A  penny  is  equal  to  two  sous." 

his  time  had  expired,  and  that  he  must  go  back 
"  But  you  may  stay,"  said  he  to  Rollo,  "  as  long 
as  you  please,  provided  that  you  come  back  be- 
fore dark." 

Hollo  was  much  pleased  with  this  permission, 
as  he  wished  to  go  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  at  the 
outlet  of  the  harbor,  and  look  at  the  prospect. 
Be  promised  to  return  before  dark. 

"Have  you  any  change,"  said  Mr.  George, 
'  to  pay  your  ferriage  back  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  have  nothing  but  my 
Ive-franc  pieces." 

"  Then  I  will  lend  you  twopence,"  said  Mr. 
George.  "  You  can  pay  me  the  first  change  you 
get  in  France." 

"  But  I  cannot  get  any  pennies  in  France," 
said  Rollo. 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  you  will  get  sous 
there.  You  must  pay  me  four  sous.  A  penny 
is  equal  to  two  sous. 

"  I  will  pay  your  bill  at  the  hotel,  too,"  con' 
tinued  Mr.  George,  "  as  I  suppose  they  will  make 
out  yours  and  mine  together,  and  you  can  pay 
me  your  share  to-morrow,  when  we  land.  Here 
is  your  ticket,  however.  You  must  take  charge 
ol  that." 

"  But  suppose  I  lose  it  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  Then  you  will  have  to  pay  over  again,"  said 


42  Rollo   in  Paris. 

A  question  considered.  View  of  the  sea. 

Mr.  George  ;  "  that  is  all.  You  will  lose  about 
twenty  francs  ;  unless,  indeed,"  he  continued, 
"your  father  should  call  it  a  casualty." 

So  Mr.  George  went  back  to  the  boat,  and 
Rollo  continued  his  walk,  thinking  on  the  way 
of  the  question  which  his  uncle  had  suggested, 
whether  his  father  would  consider  the  loss  of 
his  ticket  a  casualty  or  not.  He  determined, 
however,  very  resolutely,  that  he  would  not  lose 
it ;  and  so  he  put  it  away  safely  in  his  wallet,  and 
then  went  on.  The  road  was  very  smooth  and 
pleasant  to  walk  in,  being  bordered  by  green 
fields  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  water  of  the 
harbor  on  the  other.  Rollo-  came  at  length  to 
the  hill.  There  were  successive  terraces,  with 
houses  built  upon  them,  on  the  sides  of  the  hill, 
and  paths  leading  to  the  summit.  Rollo  had  a 
fine  view  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  vessels  and 
steamers  which  were  passing  slowly  in  the  offing, 
on  their  way  up  and  down  the  channel ;  but 
though  he  looked  long  and  eagerly  for  the  coast 
of  France,  it  was  not  to  be  seen. 

Rollo  rambled  about  the  hill  for  a  consider- 
able time  ;  for  at  that  season  of  the  year  the 
twilight  continued  very  long,  and  it  did  not 
become  dark  till  quite  late.  When,  at  length, 
the  shadows  of  the  evening  began  to  shut  in 
upon  the  landscape,  he  returned  to  the  ferry, 


Crossing  the  Channel.         43 

Rollo  returns  and  reports  himself  to  his  uncle. 

and  the  ferryman  rowed  him  back  again  to  the 
hotel. 

It  was  now  nearly  nine  o'clock,  and,  of  course, 
three  hours  remained  before  the  time  of  em- 
barkation would  arrive.  Rollo  was  not  sorry 
for  this,  as  he  thought  that  there  would  be 
enough  to  amus'3  and  occupy  him  all  this  time 
on  and  around  the  pier.  His  first  duty,  how- 
ever, was  to  go  and  report  himself  to  Mr. 
George  as  having  returned  from  his  walk. 
This  he  did.  He  found  his  uncle  very  busy  in 
his  room,  writing  his  journal. 

"  Now,  Rollo,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  it  is  three 
hours  before  we  are  to  leave.  What  are  you 
going  to  do  all  that  time  ?  " 

"  0,  I  shall  find  plenty  to  amuse  myself  with," 
said  Rollo. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  You  may 
play  about  wherever  you  are  sure  it  is  safe. 
Don't  go  near  the  edge  of  the  pier,  unless  there 
is  somebody  at  hand  to  pull  you  out  of  the 
water  with  a  boathook,  if  you  fall  in.  Amuse 
yourself  as  long  as  you  can  ;  and  when  you  are 
tired  of  taking  care  of  yourself,  come  to  me, 
and  I  will  tell  you  what  to  do." 

Rollo,  having  received  these  instructions,  left 
his  uncle  to  his  work,  and  went  away.  He 
descended  the  stairs,  and  went   out   upon   the 


44  Hollo  in  Paris. 

Hollo  takes  possession  of  his  berth.  The  French  parry, 

pier  again,  and  after  amusing  himself,  bjT  exam 
ining  every  thing  there,  he  concluded  to  go  on 
board  the  steamer.  A  train  of  cars  had  arrived 
from  London  while  he  and  his  uncle  had  been 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  and  there  were 
now  several  new  passengers  in  the  cabin,  who 
were  choosing  and  marking  their  berths,  or 
talking  together  about  the  voyage. 

Hollo  thought  that,  in  order  to  make  sure  that 
his  ticket  was  all  right,  he  would  climb  up  into 
his  berth  and  see  ;  and  then,  when  he  was  there, 
it  seemed  to  him  a  very  funny  place  to  sleep  in  ; 
so  he  laid  down  his  head  upon  the  round  cush- 
ion to  try  it.  While  he  was  in  this  position,  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  sound  of  chil- 
dren's voices  on  the  stairs,  talking  French. 
Presently  these  children  came  into  the  cabin. 
Their  mother  was  with  them.  There  were  two 
of  them,  and  they  were  not  more  than  five  or 
six  years  old.  Rollo  was  exceedingly  astonished 
to  hear  such  little  children  talk  French  so  well. 
Rollo  listened  to  see  if  he  could  understand 
what  they  said.  He  had  studied  French  him- 
self for  a  year  or  two,  and  could  say  a  great 
many  things.  In  fact,  he  had  been  accustomed 
to  consider  himself  quite  a  good  French  scholar. 
But  he  now  found  that  all  his  acquisitions  dwin- 
dled into   utter  insignificance,   when   compared 


Crossing   the   Channel.  45 

Boko  falls  asleep.  Mary  is  sent  Co  find  him. 

with  the  power  over  the  language  possessed  by 
these  little  girls. 

The  French  party  did  not  remain  very  long 
in  the  cabin  where  Rollo  was,  but  passed  at 
once  through  a  door  which  led  to  a  small  ladies' 
cabin  near.  There  were  other  persons,  how- 
ever, continually  coming  and  going,  and  Rollo 
was  interested  in  watching  their  movements, 
and  in  listening  to  the  fragments  of  conversa- 
tion which  he  heard.  He  found  his  position 
very  comfortable,  too,  and  the  sounds  around 
him  produced  so  lulling  an  effect,  that,  before 
long,  he  insensibly  closed  his  eyes.  In  a  word, 
in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  after  he  climbed  up 
into  his  berth  to  see  what  sort  of  a  place  it  was, 
he  had  put  it  fully  to  the  test  of  experiment,  by 
going  fast  asleep  in  it. 

In  about  half  an  hour  after  this.  Mr.  George, 
coming  to  the  end  of  a  paragraph  in  his  journal, 
laid  down  his  pen,  drew  a  long  breath,  looked 
out  the  window,  and  then  rang  the  bell.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  chambermaid  came. 

"  Mary,"  said  he,  "  I  wish  to  ask  the  porter  to 
go  out  and  look  about  on  the  pier,  and  in  the 
packet,  and  see  if  he  can  see  any  thing  of  that 
boy  that  came  with  me." 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  said  Mary,  with  a  quick 
courtesy  ;  and  she  immediately  disappeared. 


46  Rollo   in  Paris. 

She  tells  Mr.  George  where  he  is.  The  ticket  called  for 

In  about  five  minutes  she  came  back,  and  said 
that  the  young  master  was  in  his  berth  in  the 
packet,  sound  asleep. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George,  in  his  turn. 
"  Much  obliged  to  you."  He  then  went  on  with 
his  writing. 

The  first  thing  that  Rollo  himself  was  con- 
scious of,  after  falling  asleep  in  his  berth,  was  a 
feeling  of  some  one  pulling  him  gently  by  the 
shoulder.  He  opened  his  eyes,  and  saw  before 
him  a  face  that  he  did  not  exactly  know,  and 
yet  it  was  not  entirely  strange.  The  man  had 
his  hand  upon  Rollo's  shoulder,  and  was  endeav- 
oring to  wake  him. 

"  Your  ticket,  if  you  please,  sir." 

Rollo  stared  wildly  a  minute,  first  at  the  man, 
and  then  about  the  cabin.  It  was  night.  Lamps 
were  burning,  and  the  cabin  was  full  of  people. 
Some  were  in  their  berths,  some  in  groups  on 
the  seats,  and  one  or  two  were  just  preparing  to 
lie  down.  The  engine  was  in  motion,  and  the 
ship  was  evidently  going  fast  through  the  water. 
In  fact,  the  steamer  was  rocking  and  rolling  as 
she  went  on,  indicating  that  she  was  already  far 
out  at  sea. 

"  Your  ticket,  if  you  please,  sir,"  repeated 
the  clerk. 

Rollo  glanced   around    to  his  uncle's  berth, 


Crossing  the    Channel.  47 

Eollo  receives  two  tickets  in  exchange  for  one.  "  A  shilling." 

and  there  he  saw  his  uncle  lying  quietly  in  his 
place,  his  head  being  on  a  cushion  close  to  the 
one  on  which  Rollo's  head  had  been  lying. 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  Hollo,  "  ho  wants  my 
licket." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  without  moving, 
"  give  him  your  ticket." 

Rollo  then  recollected  that  he  had  his  ticket 
in  his  wallet.  So,  after  fumbling  for  a  time  in 
his  pocket,  he  brought  out  his  wallet,  and  pro- 
duced the  ticket,  and  handed  it  to  the  clerk. 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  clerk,  taking  the 
ticket.  At  the  same  time  he  put  two  other 
tickets  in  Rollo's  wallet,  in  the  place  of  the  one 
which  he  had  taken  out.  As  he  did  this,  he 
pointed  to  one  of  the  small  ones,  saying,  — 

"  That's  for  the  landing." 

Rollo  shut  up  his  wallet,  and  put  it  in  his 
pocket. 

"  A  shilling,  if  you  please,"  said  the  clerk. 

Rollo  had  no  shilling,  and  was  still  not  much 
more  than  half  awake.  So  he  turned  to  his 
uncle  again. 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  he,  "  he  wants  a  shilling." 

"  Well,  pay  him  a  shilling,  then,"  said  Mr. 
George. 

Rollo  now  felt  for  his  purse,  and  taking  out 
one  of  his  five-franc  pieces,  he  gave  it  to  the 


18  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Hollo's  change.  The  coast  of  Frauce. 

clerk,  who,  in  return,  gave  him  back  a  quantity 
of  change.  Rollo  attempted  to  count  the  change, 
but  he  soon  perceived  that  his  ideas  of  franca 
and  shillings  were  all  in  confusion.  So  he 
turned  the  change  all  together  into  his  purse, 
put  the  purse  back  into  his  pocket,  lay  his  head 
down  upon  his  cushion  again,  shut  his  eyes,  and 
in  one  minute  was  once  more  fast  asleep. 

Some  hours  afterward  he  woke  again,  of  his 
own  accord.  He  opened  his  eyes  and  looked 
about  him,  and  perceiving  that  it  was  morning, 
he  climbed  down  from  his  berth,  and  then  went 
up  upon  the  deck.  The  coast  of  France  was  al] 
before  him,  in  full  view,  and  the  steamer  was 
rapidly  drawing  near  to  it.  He  went  to  the 
bow  of  the  vessel  to  get  a  nearer  view.  He  saw 
directly  before  him  a  place  where  there  were 
piers,  and  batteries,  and  other  constructions  in 
dicating  a  town,  while  on  either  hand  there  ex- 
tended long  ranges  of  cliffs,  with  smooth,  green 
slopes  of  land  above,  and  broad,  sandy  shores 
below.  In  half  an  hour  more  the  steamer 
arrived  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  which 
was  formed  of  two  long  piers,  built  at  a  little 
distance  from  each  other,  and  projecting  quite 
into  the  sea.  The  steamer  glided  rapidly  along 
between  these  high  walls  of  stone,  until,  at 
length,   it   entered   a   broad   basin,  which   was 


Crossing   the   Channel 


49 


Entering  Dieppe. 


The  quays. 


ENTERING  DIEPPE. 

bordered  by  a  continuation  of  these  walls,  and 
hemmed  in  on  every  side  beyond  the  walls  of 
the  pier  with  ranges  of  the  most  quaint,  and 
queer,  and  picturesque-looking  buildings  that 
Rollo  ever  saw. 

These  buildings  were  not  close  to  the  pier, 
but  were  back  far  enough  to  leave  room  for  a 
street  between  them  and  the  water.  Such  a 
street  is  called  a  quay*     Quays  are   built   in 


*  Pronounced  kee. 


50  Rollo   in   Parts. 

Drawing  near  to  the  pier.  A  quiet  landing  Laying  the  plank 

almost  all  the  cities  of  Europe  where  there  are 
rivers  or  basins  of  water  for  shipping  ;  and 
they  are  very  pleasant  streets  to  walk  in, 
having  usually  large  and  elegant  buildings  on 
one  side,  and  vessels,  and  steamers  on  the  other. 

By  the  time  that  the  steamer  had  entered  the 
port,  almost  all  the  passengers  had  come  up 
from  below,  and  Mr.  George  among  the  rest. 
Mr.  George  came,  expecting  to  find  that,  as  they 
were  now  about  to  land,  the  baggage  would  be 
brought  out,  and  that  the  several  passengers 
would  be  called  upon  to  select  their  own.  But 
there  was  no  movement  of  this  kind.  The  bag- 
gage had  all  been  put  down  into  the  hold  the 
night  before,  and  now  the  hatches'  were  still 
closed,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  signs  of  any 
preparation  to  open  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  steamer  gradually  drew 
near  to  the  pier.  The  engine  was  stopped. 
Ropes  were  thrown  out.  People  in  queer 
dresses,  some  of  them  soldiers,  who  were  stand- 
ing on  the  pier,  caught  the  ropes  and  fastened 
them.  The  steamer  was  thus  brought  to  her 
place  and  secured  there. 

There  was  now,  however,  no  rush  to  get  on 
shore,  —  such  as  Rollo  had  always  been  accus- 
tomed to  witness  on  board  an  American  steamer 
on  her  arrival, —  but  every  thing  was  quiet  and 


Crossing  the   Channel.  ol 

Going  ashore.  The  French  custom-house  office.  Soldiers. 

still.  By  and  by  a  plank  was  laid.  Then  the 
passengers  were  called  upon  to  get  out  their 
tickets.  Then  they  began  to  walk  over  the 
plank,  each  one  giving  up  his  landing  ticket  as 
he  passed. 

When  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  reached  the  pier, 
they  found,  on  looking  around  them,  that  they 
were  not  yet  at  liberty.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  quay  was  a  building,  with  a  sign  over  it, 
in  French,  meaning  custom-house  office  for  pack- 
et boats  ;  and  there  were  two  long  ropes 
stretched,  one  from  the  stem  and  the  other  from 
the  stern  of  the  steamer,  to  the  opposite  sides  of 
the  door  of  this  building,  so  as  to  enclose  a 
space  on  the  quay,  in  front  of  the  building,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  hem  the  passengers  in,  and 
make  it  necessary  for  them  to  pass  through  the 
custom  house.  The  ropes  were  guarded  by 
soldiers,  dressed  in  what  seemed  to  Rollo  the 
queerest  possible  uniforms.  They  all  talked 
French  —  even  those  who  had  talked  English 
when  they  came  on  board  the  packet  boat  on 
the  other  side. 

"  I  can't  understand  a  word  they  say,"  said 
Rollo. 

"  Nor  I,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  but  we  can 
watch  and  see  what  they  will  do." 

It   did   not    require    long   watching,  for  no 


52  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  exhibit  their  passports. 

sooner  had  Mr.  George  said  these  words  than 
he  observed  that  the  passengers  were  all  going 
toward  the  door  of  the  custom  house,  and  that, 
as  they  went,  they  were  taking  their  passports 
out.  Nobody  can  enter  France  without  a  pass- 
port. A  passport  is  a  paper  givon  to  the  trav- 
eller by  his  own  government.  This  paper  tellr 
the  traveller's  name,  describes  his  person,  and 
requests  that  the  French  government  will  allow 
him  to  pass  through  their  countrv.  Frenchmen 
themselves  must  have  a  passport  too,  though  this 
is  of  a  little  different  kind.  .All  must  have  a 
passport  of  some  kind  or  other,  and  all  thip 
machinery  of  ropes  and  soldiers  was  to  make  it 
sure  that  every  one  of  the  passengers  had  the 
proper  document. 

The  passengers  accordingly  took  out  their 
passports  as  they  went  into  the  custom-houso 
door,  and  there  passed,  in  single  file,  before  an 
officer  seated  at  a  desk,  who  took  them  in  turn, 
opened  them,  copied  the  names  in  his  book,  and 
then  gave  them  back  to  the  owners.  Mr.  Georgo 
and  Rollo  followed  on  in  the  line.  When  their 
passports  had  been  given  back  to  them,  they 
went  on  with  the  rest  until  they  came  out  from 
the  custom  house  at  another  door,  which  brought 
them  upon  the  quay  outside  of  the  ropes. 

"  What's  to  be  done  next  ?  "  said  Rollo. 


Crossing  the   Channel.  53 

The  passengers  wait  upon  the  quay.  Waiting  for  the  baggage. 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George, 
"  I  suppose  we  shall  see." 

There  was  an  omnibus  standing  near,  marked, 
"For  the  Iron  Road,"  —  that  being  the  French 
name  for  railroad,  —  but  nobody  seemed  to  be 
getting  into  it.  In  fact,  the  passengers,  as  fast 
as  they  came  out  from  the  custom  house,  seemed 
all  very  quiet,  as  if  waiting  for  something.  A 
great  many  of  them  seemed  to  be  French  people, 
and  they  fell  into  little  groups,  and  began  to 
talk  very  volubly  together,  some  finding  friends 
who  had  come  down  to  the  quay  to  meet  them, 
and  others  making  friends,  apparently,  for  the 
occasion,  of  the  soldiers  and  idlers  that  were 
standing  around. 

"  Could  not  you  ask  some  of  them,"  said  Rol- 
lo,  "  what  we  are  to  do  next  ?  " 

"  I  don't  believe  they  would  understand  my 
French,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  am  sure  I  don't 
understand  theirs."  In  a  moment,  however,  he 
turned  to  a  young  man  who  was  standing  near, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  waiter  or  servant  man  be- 
longing to  the  place. 

"  Do  you  speak  English  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  man,  in  a  very  foreign 
accent,  but  yet  in  a  very  pleasant  tone. 

"  What  are  we  waiting  for  ? "  asked  Mr, 
George. 


54  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  trunks  are  brought  into  the  custom  house.  The  examination. 

"  You  will  wait,  sir,  for  the  baggages,  and 
then  for  the  visit  of  the  baggages." 

"  How  long  ?  "  said  Mr.  George. 

"Twenty  minutes,"  said  the  man.  He  also 
gave  Mr.  George  to  understand  that  he  and 
Rollo  might  go  and  have  some  breakfast,  if  they 
chose.  But  Mr.  George  thought  it  was  not  safe 
for  them  to  go  away  from  the  spot.  So  they 
waited  where  they  were. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  hatches  were  opened  on 
board  the  vessel,  and  the  sailors  began  to  hoist 
out  the  trunks.  As  fast  as  they  were  brought 
up  to  the  decks  men  took  them  on  shore,  and 
carried  them  into  the  custom  house  by  the  same 
door  where  the  passengers  had  entered.  When 
all  the  baggage  was  carried  in,  the  ropes  were 
taken  down,  and  the  passengers  went  to  the 
custom-house  door  again,  to  attend  to  the  exam- 
ination of  the  baggage.  A  soldier  stood  at  the 
door  to  prevent  too  many  going  in  at  a  time. 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  followed  the  rest,  and  at 
length  it  came  their  turn  to  have  their  trunks 
examined.  This  was  done  very  quick  —  the 
officers  appearing  to  think,  from  the  appearance 
of  the  travellers,  that  they  would  not  be  likely 
to  have  any  smuggled  goods  in  their  possession. 
The  officer,  accordingly,  just  looked  into  the 
trunks,  and  then  shut  down  the  lids,  and  marked 


Crossing  the   Channel.  55 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  start  for  tlie  Paris  railway  station. 

them  passed.  A  porter  then  took  theni  out  ai 
the  side  door.  There,  on  Mr.  George's  telling 
chera  in  French  that  they  were  going  to  Paris 
by  the  railroad,  the  trunks  were  put  upon  a  cart, 
while  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  got  into  the  omni- 
bus, and  then  they  were  very  soon  driving  along 
the  quay,  in  the  direction,  as  they  supposed,  of 
the  Paris  railway  station. 


56  Rollo  in  Paris, 


The  conductor  on  the  step  of  the  omnibus. 


Chapter    III. 
Journey' to  Paris. 

The  omnibus  which  Mr.  George  and  Rollc 
had  entered  contained  several  other  passengers, 
some  of  whom  had  carpet  bags  and  valises  with 
them,  as  if  they,  too,  were  going  to  Paris.  Be- 
sides the  driver,  there  was  a  conductor,  whose 
place  was  upon  the  step  of  the  omnibus,  behind. 
The  conductor  opened  and  shut  the  doors  for 
the  passengers  when  they  wished  to  get  in  or 
out,  and  took  the  fare. 

"  How  much  is  the  fare  ?  "  said  Rollo  to  Mr. 
George. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George,  shaking 
his  head.  He  spoke,  however,  in  a  very  uncon- 
cerned tone,  as  if  it  were  of  very  little  conse- 
quence whether  he  knew  or  not. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it,  then  ?  " 
said  Rollo. 

"  I  shall  say,  '  How  much  ? '  to  him,  when  we 
get  out ;  and  then,  if  I  do  not  understand  his 
answer,  I  shall  give  him  a  large  piece  of  money 


Journey  to   Paris, 


The  lady  and  gentleman.  The  lady's  baggage. 

and  let  hiin  give  me  back  as  much  change  as  he 
likes." 

Rollo  resolved  that  he  would  do  so  too. 

Next  to  Mr.  George  and  Eollo  in  the  omni- 
bus there  sat  a  gentleman  and  lady,  who  seemed 
to  be,  as  they  really  were,  a  new-married  pair. 
They  were  making  their  bridal  tour.  The  lady 
was  dressed  plainly,  but  well,  in  travelling  cos- 
tume, and  she  had  a  handsome  morocco  carriage 
bag  hanging  upon  her  arm.  The  gentleman  was 
quite  loaded  with  shawls,  and  boxes,  and  um- 
brellas, and  small  bags,  which  he  had  upon  his 
lap  or  at  his  feet.  Besides  this,  the  lady  had  a 
trunk,  which,  together  with  that  of  her  husband, 
had  been  left  behind,  to  come  on  the  cart.  She 
was  very  anxious  about  this  trunk,  for  it  con- 
tained all  her  fine  dresses.  Her  husband  was 
interested  in  the  novel  sights  and  scenes  that 
presented  themselves  to  view  in  passing  along 
the  street ;  but  she  thought  only  of  the  trunk. 

"  What  strange  costumes,  Estelle  !  "  said  he. 
"  Look !    See  that  woman !    What  a  funny  cap ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Estelle  ;  "  but,  Charley,  don't  you 
think  it  would  have  been  better  for  us  to  have 
brought  our  trunks  with  us  on  the  omnibus  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  her  husband.  "  It  is  too 
late  to  think  of  that  now.  I've  no  doubt  that 
they  are  safe  enough  where  they  are.     Look! 


58  Rollo  in  Paris. 

The  girl  with  wooden  shoes  The  railway  station 

There's  a  girl  with  wooden  shoes  on.  Those 
are  the  wooden  shoes  we  have  read  about  so 
often  in  books.     Look  !  " 

Estelle  glanced  her  eyes,  for  an  instant,  toward 
the  wooden  shoes,  and  then  began  to  look  back 
along  the  street  again,  watching  anxiously  for 
the  trunks. 

At  length  the  omnibus  approached  the  station. 
It  entered  through  a  magnificent  portal,  under 
an  arch.  There  was  a  soldier  walking  back  and 
forth,  with  his  musket  in  his  hand,  bayonet 
fixed,  to  guard  the  entrance.  None  but  actual 
travellers  were  allowed  to  enter.  The  omnibus, 
having  entered  the  court,  stopped  before  a  splen- 
did portico,  where  there  was  a  door  leading  into 
the  building.  The  passengers  paid  their  fares, 
and  got  out.  On  entering  the  building,  they 
found  themselves  in  a  spacious  apartment,  with 
a  great  variety  of  partitions,  offices,  enclosures, 
and  railings,  presenting  themselves  on  every 
hand,  the  meaning  of  all  which  it  was  very  diffi- 
cult to  understand.  There  were  also  signs 
marked  first  class,  and  second  class,  and  third 
class,  and  placards  of  notices  to  travellers,  and 
time  tables,  and  various  similar  things.  On  the 
back  side  of  the  room  were  doors  and  windows, 
looking  out  to  a  platform,  where  the  train  of 
cars  was  seen,  apparently  all  ready  to  set  off. 


Journey  to  Paris.  59 

The  anxiety  of  Estelle,  and  the  indifference  of  her  husband. 

But  the  partitions  and  railings  which  were  in 
the  way  prevented  the  company  from  going  out 
there. 

There  were  a  number  of  travellers  in  thi3 
room,  several  parties  having  arrived  there  before 
the  omnibus  came.  Many  of  these  persons  were 
waiting  quietly,  talking  in  little  groups,  or  rest- 
ing themselves  by  sitting  upon  their  carpet  bags. 
Others  were  looking  about  eagerly  and  anxious- 
ly, wondering  what  they  were  to  do,  or  trying 
to  find  somebody  who  could  tell  them  about  the 
baggage.  Estelle  was  the  most  restless  and 
uneasy  of  all.  She  went  continually  to  the 
door  to  look  down  the  road,  to  see  if  the  cart 
was  coming. 

"  Charles,"  said  she,  "  what  a  shame  it  is  that 
they  don't  come  with  the  trunks !  The  train  is 
all  ready,  and  will  go  off  before  they  come." 

"0,  no,"  said  her  husband;  "I  think  not. 
Don't  be  anxious  about  them.  I've  no  doubt 
they  will  be  here  in  time.  Come  with  me,  and 
let  us  look  about  the  station,  and  see  how  it 
differs  from  ours." 

But  Estelle  would  not  allow  her  thoughts  to 
be  diverted  from  her  trunk.  She  remained  on 
the  steps,  looking  anxiously  down  the  road. 
Some  of  the  other  passengers  who  were  unused 
to  travelling,  seeii  g  her  look  so  anxious,  and 


60  Rollo   in  Par's. 

The  baggage  does  not  come.  Inquiries. 

not  understanding  what  she  said,  supposed  that 
some  accident  had  happened,  or  that  some  un- 
usual delay  had  occurred,  and  they  began  to  be 
anxious  too.  Just  then  a  bell  began  to  ring  out 
upon  the  platform. 

"  There !  "  exclaimed  Estelle.  "  The  train  is 
going  !  What  shall  we  do  ?  Why  can't  you 
ask  somebody,  Charles  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  can't  speak  French,"  said  Charles ; 
"  and  they  would  not  understand  me  if  I  ask  in 
English." 

"  Yes  they  would,"  said  Estelle  ;  "  I'm  sure 
they  would.  There  are  so  many  English  trav- 
ellers going  on  these  roads  now,  that  it  must  be 
that  they  have  men  here  that  speak  English. 
There's  a  man,"  said  she,  pointing  to  a  person  in 
livery  who  was  standing  within  a  sort  of  en 
closure. 

Mr.  Charles,  thus  urged,  walked  across  the 
hall  to  the  railing,  though  very  reluctantly,  and 
asked  the  man  if  he  could  tell  him  why  the 
trunks  did  not  come. 

"  Sir?  "  said  the  man,  in  French,  anl  looking 
%s  if  he  did  not  understand. 

"  Do  you  speak  English  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Charles. 

"  There,"  said  the  man,  pointing  across  the 
room.  Mr.  Charles  looked,  and  saw  another 
man,  who,  by  the  livery  or  uniform  which  he 


Journey  to  Paris.  61 


Mr.  Charles  tries  to  talk  English  with  a  Frenchman. 

wore,  seemed  to  be  a  porter  belonging  to  the 
station,  standing  by  a  window.  He  accordingly 
went  across  to  ask  the  question  of  him. 

"  Do  you  speak  English,  sir  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Yes,  sare,"  replied  the  man,  speaking  with 
great  formality,  and  in  a  very  foreign  accent 
making,  at  the  same  time,  a  very  polite  bow. 

"  What  is  the  reason  that  our  baggage  does 
not  come?  "  asked  Mr.  Charles. 

"  Yes,  sare,"  replied  the  porter,  speaking  in  the 
same  manner. 

"  Why  does  not  it  come  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Charles 
again.  "  We  put  it  upon  a  cart  at  the  custom 
house,  and  why  does  not  it  come  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sare,"  replied  the  porter,  with  another 
very  polite  bow. 

Mr.  Charles,  perceiving  that  the  porter's 
knowledge  of  English  consisted,  apparently,  in 
being  able  to  say,  "  Yes,  sir,"  and  mortified  at  the 
absurd  figure  which  he  made  in  attempting  to 
make  useless  inquiries  in  such  a  way,  bowed  in 
his  turn,  and  went  back  to  Estelle  in  a  state  of 
greater  alienation  of  heart  from  her  than  he 
had  ever  experienced  before.  And  as  this  book 
may,  perhaps,  be  read  sometimes  by  girls  as  well 
as  boys,  I  will  here,  for  their  benefit,  add  the 
remark,  that  there  is  no  possible  way  by  which 
a  lady  can   more   effectually  destroy  any  kind 


62  Rollo   in   Paris. 


How  a  young  lady  may  make  herself  disagreeable. 

feeling  which  a  gentleman  may  entertain  for 
her  than  by  forcing  him  to  exhibit  himself  thus 
in  an  awkward  and  ridiculous  light,  by  her  un- 
reasonable exactions  on  journeys,  or  rides,  or 
walks,  or  excursions  of  any  kind  that  they  may 
be  taking  together. 

Rollo  and  his  uncle  George  had  witnessed 
this  scene,  and  had  both  been  much  interested  in 
watching  the  progress  of  it.  Rollo  did  not 
know  but  that  there  was  some  real  cause  for 
solicitude  about  the  baggage,  especially  as  sev- 
eral of  the  lady  passengers  who  were  standing 
with  Estelle  at  the  door  seemed  to  be  anxiously 
looking  down  the  road. 

"  Do  you  feel  any  anxiety  about  our  trunks 
coming  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  Not  the  least,"  said  Mr.  George,  quietly. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Rollo.  "  Are  you  sure 
that  they  will  come  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  but  there  are  a 
good  many  excellent  reasons  why  I  should  not 
feel  any  anxiety  about  them.  In  the  first  place,  I 
have  some  little  confidence  in  the  railway  ar- 
rangements made  in  this  country.  The  French 
are  famous  all  the  world  over  for  their  skill  in 
systematizing  and  regulating  all  operations  of 
this  kind,  so  that  they  shall  work  in  the  most 
sure  and  perfect  manner.     It  does  not  seem  at 


Journey   to    Paris.  63 


Why  Mr.  George  was  not  anxious  about  the  baggage. 

all  probable  to  me,  therefore,  that  they  can 
manage  so  clumsily  here,  on  one  of  the  great 
lines  between  England  and  France,  as  to  get  all 
the  trunks  of  a  whole  steamer  load  of  passen- 
gers upon  a  cart,  and  then  loiter  with  it  on  the 
way  to  the  station,  and  let  the  train  go  off  with- 
out it." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  that's  a  good  reason  ; 
but  you  said  there  were  several." 

"  Another  is,  that,  if  they  are  capable  of  man- 
aging so  clumsily  as  to  have  such  a  thing  hap- 
pen, we  cannot  help  it,  and  have  nothing  to  do 
but  to  bear  it  quietly.  We  put  our  trunks  in 
the  proper  place  to  have  them,  brought  here. 
We  could  not  have  done  otherwise,  with  pro- 
priety, for  that  was  the  regular  mode  provided 
for  conveying  the  baggage  ;  and  if  there  is  a 
failure  to  get  it  here,  we  are  not  to  fret  about  it, 
but  to  take  it  as  we  would  a  storm,  or  a  break 
down,  or  any  other  casualty  —  that  is,  take  it 
quietly." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  that's  a  good  reason. 
Are  there  any  more  ?  " 

"  There  is  one  more,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  and 
that  is,  I  am  not  anxious  about  the  trunks 
coming  in  season,  for  I  don't  care  a  fig  whethei 
they  come  or  not." 

"  O,  uncle  George  !  "  exclaimed  Rollo. 


64  Rollo   in   Paris. 

At  last  the  baggage  arrives.  Weighing  the  trunks. 

"  I  do  not,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  for  if  they  do 
not  come,  the  only  consequence  will  be,  that  we 
shall  have  to  wait  two  or  three  hours  for  the 
next  train,  which  will  give  us  just  time  to  ram- 
ble about  a  little  in  this  queer-looking  town  of 
Dieppe,  and  get  some  breakfast,  and  perhaps 
have  some  curious  adventures  in  trying  to  talk 
French.  In  fact,  I  rather  hope  the  baggage 
won't  come." 

Mr.  George  was  destined  to  be  disappointed 
in  this  rising  desire,  for,  while  he  and  Rollo 
were  talking,  Estelle  came  running  in  to  her 
husband  with  a  countenance  full  of  joy,  saying 
that  the  cart  had  come,  and  urging  him  to  come 
and  get  their  trunks  off  as  quick  as  possible. 
Her  eagerness  was  increased  by  hearing  the 
bell  again,  which  now  began  to  toll,  leading  her 
to  think  that  the  train  was  going  off  immedi- 
ately. The  porters,  however,  whose  business  it 
was  to  carry  the  trunks  in,  did  not  seem  to  be 
at  all  disturbed  by  the  sound,  but  began  to  take 
off  the  trunks,  one  by  one,  and  convey  them  up 
into  the  station.  Here  they  were  placed  upon  a 
sort  of  counter,  from  whence  they  were  taken 
off  on  the  other  side,  and  weighed  in  a  curiously 
contrived  pair  of  scales  placed  there  for  the 
purpose.  If  any  trunk  weighed  over  a  certain 
number  of  pounds, —  the  amount  which,  accord 


Journey  to   Paris.  65 

Paying  for  the  baggage.  Estelle  watches  her  trunk. 

ing  to  the  regulations  of  the  road,  each  passen- 
ger was  allowed  to  carry,  —  then  the  surplus 
had  to  be  paid  for.  There  was  a  little  office 
close  to  the  weighing  machine  ;  and  as  fast  as 
the  trunks  were  weighed,  the  result  was  reported 
to  the  clerk,  who  made  out  a  bill  for  the  surplus, 
whatever  it  was,  and  the  passenger  paid  it 
through  an  opening.  If  there  was  no  surplus 
weight,  then  they  gave  the  passenger  a  similar 
bill,  which  was  to  be  his  check  for  his  trunk  at 
the  end  of  the  journey.  Every  thing  was,  how- 
ever, so  admirably  arranged,  that  all  this  was 
done  very  rapidly. 

Mr.  Charles,  when  he  found  that  the  trunks 
were  all  to  be  weighed,  proposed  to  go  with 
Estelle  to  the  cars,  so  as  to  get  a  good  seat  for 
her  ;  but  Estelle  chose  to  remain  and  make  sure 
that  her  trunk  was  attended  to.  It  happened  that 
Mr.  George's  trunk  and  Rollo's  were  weighed 
among  the  first ;  and  as  soon  as  they  got  their 
checks,  Mr.  George  said,  — 

"  Now  for  our  seats  in  the  cars." 

"  But  which  way  are  we  to  go  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Go  and 
show  that  man  your  ticket,  and  ask  him  where 
we  are  to  go." 

"  In  French  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George. 


G6  Rollo  in  Paris. 


Mr.  Georgo  and  Kollo  go  to  find  their  seats. 


So  Rollo  went  to  the  man  who  was  standing 
by  a  sort  of  gateway  which  led  through  a  par* 
tition  railing,  as  if  he  were  there  to  guard  the 
passage  ;  and  holding  up  his  little  pasteboard 
ticket,  he  said,  in  French, — 

"  Where  to  go  ?  " 

The  man  looked  at  the  ticket,  and,  seeing  that 
first  class  was  printed  upon  it,  he  pointed  in  a 
certain  direction,  and  said-  something  in  French, 
speaking,  however,  in  so  rapid  and  voluble  a 
manner,  that  Rollo  could  not  understand  a 
single  word.     He,  however,  understood  the  sign. 

"  This  way,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo.  "  He 
says  we  must  go  this  way." 

Following  the  indication  which  the  man  had 
given,  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  passed  out  upon 
the  platform,  where  they  found  the  train  ready 
for  them.  There  were  various  attendants  upon 
the  platform,  dressed  in  a  quaint  sort  of  uniform, 
the  livery,  as  it  were,  of  the  railroad  company. 
One  of  them  looked  at  Rollo's  ticket,  and  then 
opened  the  door  of  a  first-class  car.  The  cars 
were  made  like  those  in  England,  in  separate 
compartments,  each  compartment  being  like  a 
large  coach,  with  one  front  seat,  and  one  back, 
facing  each  other.  There  were  four  places ; 
that  is,  room  for  four  passengers  on  each  seat. 
Of  course,  only  those  at  the  ends  were  near  the 


Journey  to   Paris.  67 

Estelle  wishes  the  Englishman's  seat. 

window.  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  took  the  two 
seats  nearest  the  window  on  the  side  where  they 
got  in,  as  one  of  the  seats  at  the  opposite  side 
was  already  occupied  by  a  gentleman.  The 
gentleman  seemed  to  be  an  Englishman,  for  he 
was  reading  the  London  Times. 

Rollo  and  Mr.  George  had  been  seated  only 
two  or  three  minutes  before  Estelle  and  her  hus- 
band came  along,  Estelle  leading  the  way.  The 
attendant  opened  the  door  of  the  car,  and  Es- 
telle, followed  by  her  husband,  got  in.  They 
passed  between  Mr.  George  and  Rollo,  and 
stood  there  for  a  moment,  looking  about  for  a 
good  seat.  A  freight  train  was  slowly  trun- 
dling by  at  this  time  on  an  adjoining  track,  so 
that  what  they  said  was  not  very  audible  ;  but 
still,  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  could  hear  it. 

"  I  want  a  seat  by  the  window,"  said  Estelle, 
"  where  I  can  look  out  and  see  the  country.  Ask 
that  gentleman  if  he  would  not  be  willing  to 
take  a  middle  seat,  and  let  us  sit  together  by 
the  window." 

"We  had  better  go  to  some  other  car,"  said 
her  husband,  in  an  undertone.  "  He  wishes  to 
see  the  country,  probably,  himself,  and  has  come 
early,  perhaps,  so  as  to  get  a  good  seat." 

"  0,  no,"  said  Estelle  ;  "  this  is  a  very  nice 
car  ;  and  he  would  just  as  soon  change  as  not,  I 
have  no  doubt.     Ask  him,  Charley  ;  do." 


68                   Rollo 

IN 

Paris. 

Mr.  Charles  asks  for  it. 

The  Englishman's  reply. 

So  Estelle  moved  to  one  side  for  her  husband 
to  pass.  Mr.  Charles,  thus  urged,  approached 
the  gentleman,  and  said,  in  a  very  bland  and 
respectful  manner, — 

"  Should  you  have  any  objection,  sir,  to  move 
your  seat,  so  as  to  let  this  lady  sit  by  the  win- 
dow ?  " 

The  gentleman  raised  his  eyes  from  his  paper, 
and  looked  at  Mr.  Charles  an  instant,  and  then 
answered,  quietly, — 

"  I  prefer  this  seat,  sir." 

He  then  went  on  with  his  reading  as  before. 

Estelle  pouted  her  lip,  and  said,  though  in  a 
tone  too  low,  perhaps,  for  the  gentleman  to  hear, 
"  What  a  rude  man  !  " 

"  We  will  give  you  these  scats,  sir,"  said  Mr. 
George,  "  if  you  would  like  them." 

"  Yes,  they'll  do  just  as  well,"  said  Estelle, 
speaking  to  her  husband. 

Mr.  George  rose,  and  saying,  "  Come,  Rollo," 
he  left  the  car. 

Mr.  George  had  some  trouble  in  looking  for 
other  seats  ;  but  at  length  he  succeeded  in  find- 
ing two  that  were  as  good  as  those  which  they 
had  left. 

"  I  think  she  might  at  least  have  thanked  you 
for  giving  up  your  seat  to  accommodate  her,' 
said  Rollo. 


Journey  to   Paris.  69 

Mr.  George's  motive.  The  ride  and  the  prosi>ect. 

"  I  did  not  do  it  to  accommodate  her,"  said 
Mr.  George  ;  "  I  did  it  to  get  out  of  the  sight  and 
hearing  of  her.  I  would  not  ride  from  here  to 
Paris  in  the  same  car  with  such  a  fussmaker  for 
all  the  prospects  in  France.  I  had  rather  be 
shut  up  in  a  freight  car." 

"  How  much  trouble  she  makes  her  husband !  " 
said  Rollo. 

"  It  is  not  the  trouble,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  it 
is  the  mortification  and  annoyance.  She  is  a 
perpetual  torment.  If  that's  the  way  that  young 
wives  treat  their  husbands  on  the  bridal  tour, 
I'm  thankful  that  I  am  not  a  bridegroom." 

The  train  soon  set  out,  and  Mr.  George  and 
Rollo,  forgetting  Estelle,  soon  began  to  enjoy 
the  ride.  They  were  both  extremely  interested 
in  the  views  which  they  obtained  from  their 
windows  as  they  passed  along,  and  with  the 
antique  and  quaint  appearance  of  the  county  — 
the  ancient  stone  cottages,  with  thatched  roofs  ; 
the  peasants,  in  their  picturesque  dresses  ;  the 
immense  tracts  of  cultivated  country,  divided  in 
green  and  brown  patches,  like  the  beds  of  a 
garden,  but  with  no  fences  or  enclosures  of  any 
kind  to  be  seen  ;  the  great  forests,  with  trees 
planted  closely  in  rows,  like  the  corn  in  an 
American  cornfield  ;  and  the  roadways  which 
they  occasionally  passed  —  immense  avenues,  bor- 


70  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  refreshment  room  at  Rouen. 

dered  on  cither  band  with  double  rows  of  majes- 
tic trees,  and  extending  across  the  country,  as 
straight  as  the  street  of  a  city,  till  lost  in  the 
horizon.  These  and  a  thousand  other  things, 
which  were  all  the  time  presenting  themselves 
to  view,  kept  the  travellers  continually  full  of 
wonder  and  delight. 

After  going  on  thus  for  several  hours,  the 
train  stopped  in  a  very  spacious  depot,  where 
there  was  a  large  refreshment  room  ;  and  as 
one  of  the  attendants  called  out  that  there 
would  be  ten  minutes  of  rest,  both  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  got  out,  and  went  into  the  refresh- 
ment room.  They  found  a  great  multitude  of 
cakes  and  meats  spread  out  upon  an  immense 
counter,  and  dishes  of  every  kind,  all  totally 
unknown  to  them.  They,  of  course,  could  not 
call  for  any  thing  ;  but,  after  taking  a  survey, 
they  helped  themselves  to  what  they  thought 
looked  as  if  it  might  be  good,  and  then  paid  in 
the  same  way,  by  letting  the  girls  that  attended 
the  tables  help  themselves  to  money  which  the 
travellers  held  out  to  them  n  their  hands.  They 
then  took  their  seats  again  in  the  car,  and  soon 
afterward  the  train  moved  on. 

The  place  where  they  had  stopped  was  Rouen, 
which,  as  well  as  Dieppe  and  Paris,  the  reader 
will  find,  on  examining  any  map  of  France.     In 


Journey  to  Paris.  71 

How  to  go  about  in  a  strange  city  without  getting  lost 

the  course  of  the  ride  from  Rouen  to  Paris,  Mr. 
George  and  Rollo  fell  into  quite  a  conversation, 
in  which  Rollo  received  a  great  deal  of  very 
good  advice  from  Mr.  George  in  respect  to  the 
care  of  himself  when  he  should  get  to  Paris. 

"  I  suppose  that  I  should  be  sure  to  get  lost," 
said  Rollo,  "  if  I  should  attempt  to  go  out  in 
such  a  great  city  alone." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  not  at  all.  A  per- 
son can  walk  about  a  great  way,  sometimes,  in  a 
strange  city,  without  getting  lost.  All  he  has 
to  do  is  to  take  care,  at  first,  to  go  only  in  such 
directions  as  that  he  can  keep  the  way  home  in 
his  mind." 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  exactly,  by 
that,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Why,  suppose  you  were  in  a  great  city,  and 
you  come  out  at  the  door  of  your  hotel,  and 
there  you  find  a  long,  straight  street.  You 
walk  along  that  street  half  a  mile.  Then  don't 
you  think  you  could  find  your  way  home?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Certaiiilv,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  because  you 
have  it  in  your  mind  that  the  way  home  is 
directly  back  by  that  same  street,  till  you  come 
to  the  hotel.  Now,  suppose  that,  after  going 
along  in  that  street  for  half  a  mile,  you  should 


72  Rollo   in  Paris. 

More  about  losing  the  way.  The  colored  girl. 

eome  to  a  great  church,  upon  a  corner,  and 
should  turn  there  to  the  right,  and  go  for  some 
distance  in  another  street  leading  off  from  the 
first  one  ;  don't  you  think  you  could  then  find 
your  way  home  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  should  go  back  to  the 
church,  and  then  turn  to  the  left,  and  so  go  home." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  by  pro- 
ceeding cautiously  in  that  way,  carrying  your 
way  home  in  your  mind  with  you  all  the  time, 
you  can  ramble  a  great  deal  about  a  strange 
city  without  getting  lost,  and  go  farther  and 
farther  every  day. 

"  Then,  besides,  if  you  do  get  lost,  it  is  of  no 
consequence.  You  can  always  ask  the  way 
back  ;  or,  if  worst  comes  to  worst,  you  can 
take  a  cab,  and  tell  the  man  to  drive  you  home." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  suppose  I  could  always 
do  that." 

"  Only  you  must  be  sure,"  said  Mr.  George, 
"  not  to  forget  the  name  of  your  hotel.  Once  I 
was  walking  about  in  Paris,  and  I  saw  a  colored 
girl  on  the  sidewalk,  before  me,  who  seemed  to 
be  inquiring  something  of  the  people  that  she 
met,  without  appearing  to  get  any  satisfactory 
answer.  I  thought  she  was  an  American  girl  ; 
and  so  I  went  to  her,  and  asked  her  in  French 


Journey   to    Paris.  73 

Mr.  George's  directions.  New  Orleans. 

what  she  wanted  to  know  —  for  I  observed  that 
she  was  speaking  French.  She  said  she  wished 
to  know  what  was  the  name  of  the  hotel  where 
most  of  the  Americans  lodged.  I  could  not 
speak  French  very  well  myself,  and  so  I  could 
not  ask  her  for  any  explanations ;  but  I  supposed 
that  she  belonged  to  some  American  party,  and 
had  lost  her  way  in  going  somewhere  of  an 
errand,  and  had  forgotten  the  name  of  the  hotel. 
So  I  told  her  the  names  of  two  or  three  hotels 
where  Americans  were  accustomed  to  lodge, 
and  she  went  away." 

"  Did  she  find  her  own  hotel  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  never 
knew  what  became  of  her." 

"  How  did  she  learn  French,  do  you  sup- 
pose ?  "asked  Rollo. 

"  I  presume  she  came  from  New  Orleans,"  re- 
plied Mr.  George,  "  where  nearly  all  the  people 
speak  French." 

Thus  our  two  travellers  beguiled  their  journey, 
by  talking  sometimes  about  the  novel  and  cu- 
rious objects  which  presented  themselves  to  view, 
in  the  landscape,  as  the  train  rolled  rapidly 
along  on  its  way,  and  sometimes  about  what 
they  expected  to  see  and  to  do  on  their  arrival 
in  Paris      At  length,  the  indications  that  they 


74  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Napoleon's  Triumphal  Arch.  The  country  around  it. 

were  approaching  the  great  capital  began  tc 
multiply  on  every  hand.  The  villages  were 
more  frequent.  Villas,  parks,  and  palaces  camo 
into  view  ;  and  here  and  there  an  ancient  castle 
reposed  on  the  slope  of  a  distant  hill,  or  frowned 
from  its  summit.  At  length,  Rollo,  turning  his 
head  to  the  window  opposite  to  the  one  where 
he  had  been  looking  out,  exclaimed  suddenly,  — 
"  Look  there  !  Uncle  George,  what's  that  ?  " 
Mr.  George  said  that  that  was  Napoleon's 
famous  Triumphal  Arch,  that  forms  the  grand 
entrance  to  Paris,  on  the  way  to  the  royal  pal- 
aces. It  was  a  large,  square  building,  splen- 
didly adorned  with  sculptures  and  architectural 
ornaments,  and  towering  high  into  the  air  out 
of  the  midst  of  a  perfect  sea  of  houses,  streets, 
avenues,  trees,  gardens,  and  palaces,  which  cov- 
ered the  whole  country  around.  It  stood  upon 
a  commanding  elevation,  which  made  its  magni- 
tude and  its  height  seem  all  the  more  impressive. 
Through  the  centre  of  it  was  a  magnificent  arch- 
way, wide  enough  for  four  carriages  to  pass 
abreast. 

"  It  is  th:  Triumphal  Arch,"  said  Mr.  George, 
"  by  which  all  grand  processions  enter  Paris  on 
great  public  days  of  rejoicing.  We  will  go  out 
and  see  it  some  day.     It  is  called  the  Triumphal 


Journey   to   Paris.  75 

The  railway  signals.  The  Parisian  station 

Arch  of  Neuilly,  because  it  is  on  the  road  that 
leads  to  Neuilly."  * 

By  this  time  the  Triumphal  Arch  had  passed 
out  of  view,  and  presently  the  train  of  cars  be- 
gan to  be  shut  in  by  buildings,  and  the  usual 
indications  appeared  of  the  approach  to  a  great 
station.  Queer-looking  signals,  of  mysterious 
meaning,  —  some  red,  some  blue,  some  round, 
some  square,  —  glided  by,  and  men  in  strange 
and  fantastic  costumes  stood  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left,  with  little  flags  in  their  hands, 
and  one  arm  extended,  as  if  to  show  the  loco- 
motive the  way. 

At  length  the  convoy  (as  the  French  call  a 
ailway  train)  came  to  a  stand,  and  an  attend- 
ant, in  uniform,  opened  the  door  of  the  car. 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  got  out  and  looked 
about,  quite  bewildered  with  the  magnificence 
of  the  scene  around  them.  The  station  was 
very  extensive,  and  was  very  splendid  in  its 
construction,  and  there  were  immense  numbers 
t;f  people  going  and  coming  in  it  in  all  direc- 
tions.    Still,  every  thing  was  so  well  regulated 


*  It  is  also  called  the  Arc  de  l'Etoile.  Etoile  means  star,  and 
the  French  give  that  name  to  a  place  where  several  roads  diverge 
from  one  point.  Roads  so  diverging  form  a  sort  of  star.  Th< 
leader  will  find  this  arch  or.  any  map  of  Paris,  .vith  the  roads  di« 
verging  from  it. 


Rollo   in   Paris 


The  French  coachman.  Another  examination  of  the  baggage 

that  there  was  no  disorder  or  confusion.  There 
was  a  line  of  carriages  drawn  up  in  a  cer- 
tain place  near  the  platform ;  but  the  coach- 
men remained  quietly  by  them,  awaiting  calls 
from  the  passengers,  instead  of  vociferously  and 
clamorously  offering  their  services,  as  is  cus- 
tomary at  the  stations  in  America.  Nor  was 
there  any  pushing  or  crowding  for  trunks  and 
baggage.  In  fact,  the  trunks  were  all  to  be 
examined  before  they  could  go  into  the  city  ;  for 
there  are  separate  duties  for  the  city  of  Paris, 
in  addition  to  those  for  France.  The  baggage 
was,  therefore,  all  taken  from  the  baggage  car, 
and  arranged  in  an  immense  apartment,  on  coun- 
ters, which  extended  all  around  the  sides,  and 
up  and  down  the  middle  ;  and  then,  when  all 
was  ready,  the  passengers  were  admitted,  and 
each  one  claimed  his  own.  Mr.  George  and 
Rollo  easily  found  their  trunks,  and.  on  present- 
ing their  tickets,  an  officer  required  them  to 
open  the  trunks,  that  he  might  see  if  there  was 
any  thing  contraband  inside.  As  soon,  however, 
as  he  perceived  that  Mr.  George  and  Rollo 
were  foreigners,  and  that  their  trunks  had  come 
from  beyond  sea,  he  shut  down  the  lids  again, 
saying,  "  It  is  well."  A  porter  then  took  the 
trunks  and  carried  them  out  to  a  carriage. 
"  Hotel  of  the  Rhine,  Place  Vendome,"  said 


Joueney  to   Paris. 


7  j 


The  arrival. 


French  conversation. 


Mr.  George,  in  French,  to  the  coachman,  by  way 
of  directing  him  where  to  2:0. 


■Up         -  ■-    Sfe 

11111    :  -  -  ^j^s^rfe 


THE   ARRIVAL. 


"  Yes — yes  —  yes — yes/'  said  the  coachman. 

It  is  so  natural  and  easy  for  the  French  ta 
talk,  that  they  generally  use  all  the  words  they 
can  to  express  their  meaning,  besides  an  infinity 
of  gestures.  Thus,  when  they  wish  to  say  yes, 
they  often  repeat  the  yes  four  or  five  timen,  in  a 
very  rapid  manner,  thus  :  — 


78  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  hotel.  The  porter's  lodge.  Reception  of  the  travellere. 

Yes — yes —  yes  —  yes. 

Mr.  George  got  into  the  coach,  and  Rollo 
followed  him.  As  they  drove  along  the  streets, 
Rollo  tried  to  look  out  the  window  and  see  ; 
but  the  window  was  so  small,  and  the  streets 
were  so  narrow,  and  the  coachman,  moreover, 
drove  so  fast,  that  he  had  very  little  opportu- 
nity to  make  observations.  At  length  he  caught 
a  momentary  glimpse  of  a  monstrous  column 
standing  in  the  middle  of  an  open  square ;  and 
immediately  afterward  the  carriage  drove  in 
under  an  archway,  and  came  to  a  stand,  in  a 
small,  open  court,  surrounded  with  lofty  build- 
ings. This  was  the  hotel.  There  was  a  small 
room,  which  served  as  a  porter's  lodge,  in  this 
court,  near  where  the  coach  stopped.  A  girl 
came  to  the  door  of  this  lodge  to  receive  the 
guests.  She  bowed  to  Mr.  George  and  Rollo 
with  great  politeness,  and  seemed  glad  to  see 
them.  Mr.  George  spoke  to  her  in  French,  to 
say  what  rooms  he  wished  to  engage.  What  he 
said,  literally  translated,  was  this  :  — 

"  We  want  two  chambers  for  ourselves,  at  the 
third,  and  an  apartment  of  three  pieces,  at  the 
second,  for  a  gentleman,  lady,  and  their  young 
girl,  whom  we  attend  to-morrow." 

The  girl   who  was   very  neatly  and  prettily 


Journey  to  Paris. 


79 


Mr.  George  and  Rollo  are  shown  to  their  rooms. 

iressed,  and  was  very  agreeable  in  her  manners, 
immediately  said,  "  Very  well,"  and  rang  a  bell. 
A  servant  man  came  at  the  summons,  and,  taking 
the  trunks,  showed  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  up 
their  rooms. 


80  Rollo  in  Paris, 


An  apartment  of  throe  pieces  The  turniture. 


Chapter    IV. 
The   Garden  of  the  Tuileries. 

The  first  Sunday  that  Rollo  spent  in  Paris  he 
met  with  quite  a  singular  adventure. 

His  father  and  mother  had  arrived  the  even- 
ing before,  and  had  established  themselves 
quite  comfortably  in  the  "  apartment  of  three 
pieces,"  which  Mr.  George  had  engaged  for 
them.  An  apartment,  according  to  the  French 
use  of  the  term,  is  not  a  single  room,  but  a 
group  of  rooms,  suitable  to  be  occupied  by  one 
family.  The  number  of  pieces  is  the  number  of 
rooms. 

Mr.  Holiday's  three  rooms  were  a  small  but 
beautifully  furnished  parlor,  where  they  had 
breakfast,  and  two  bed  rooms.  One  bed  room 
was  for  himself  and  Mrs.  Holiday,  and  the  other 
tvas  for  Jennie.  There  were  a  great  many 
splendid  mirrors  in  these  rooms,  and  other 
elegant  furniture.  The  floors  were  not  carpeted, 
but  were  formed  of  dark  and  polished  wood, 
suriously  inlaid,  with  rugs  here  and  there  at  the 


The  Garden  of  the  Tuileries.    81 

The  fireplace.  Curious  windows.  The  Place  Vendome. 

doors  and  before  the  sofas  and  chairs.  There 
was  a  small,  square  rug  before  every  chair,  and 
a  large  one  before  the  sofa.  There  were  a 
great  many  other  curious  things  to  be  observed 
in  the  arrangements  of  the  room.  The  fireplace, 
for  example,  was  closed  by  plates  of  sheet  iron, 
which  could  be  shoved  up  and  down  like  the 
sashes  of  a  window  ;  while  the  windows  them- 
selves opened  like  doors,  each  having  a  great 
brass  fastening,  like  a  latch,  in  the  middle,  and 
hinges  at  the  sides. 

Hollo  had  gone  with  his  father  and  mother  to 
church  in  the  morning,  and  at  about  one  o'clock 
they  returned.  Rollo  and  Jennie  remained  at 
home,  after  one,  for  an  hour  or  two,  waiting  for 
their  uncle  George  to  come.  He  had  gone  away 
somewhere,  and  had  not  yet  returned.  While 
thus  waiting,  the  children  sat  at  the  window  of 
their  parlor,  which  they  opened  by  swinging  the 
two  sides  of  the  sash  entirely  back,  so  that  they 
could  see  out  to  great  advantage.  The  window 
opened  down  quite  low  ;  but  there  was  a  strong 
iron  bar  passing  across  from  side  to  side,  to 
keep  them  from  falling  out.  The  children  sat 
at  this  window,  amusing  themselves  with  what 
they  could  see  in  the  square.  The  name  of  the 
square  was  the  Place  Vendome.  There  was  a 
very  large  and  lofty  column  in  the  centre  of  it. 


82  Hollo   in   Paris. 

The  column  of  brass.  Bas  relict 

This  column  is  very  greatly  celebrated  for  its 
magnitude  and  its  beauty.  It  is  twelve  feet  in 
diameter,  and  nearly  a  hundred  and  forty  feet 
high.  But  what  is  most  remarkable  is,  that  the 
whole  exterior  of  it,  enormous  as  the  mass  is,  is 
formed  of  brass.  The  brass  was  obtained  by 
melting  up  the  cannons  which  Napoleon  took 
irom  his  enemies.  At  the  end  of  one  of  his 
campaigns  he  found  that  he  had  twelve  hundred 
cannons  which  he  had  taken  from  the  Russians 
and  Austrians,  with  whom  he  had  been  at  war  ; 
and  after  reflecting  for  some  time  on  the  ques- 
tion, what  he  should  do  with  them,  he  concluded 
to  send  them  to  Paris,  and  there  to  have  them 
made  into  this  enormous  column,  to  ornament 
the  centre  of  the  Place  Yendome. 

The  column,  though  made  of  brass,  is  not 
bright  upon  the  outside,  but  dark,  like  bronze, 
and  the  surface  is  ornamented  with  figures  in 
what  are  called  bas  relief,  representing  the  bat- 
tles and  victories  in  which  the  cannon  out  of 
which  the  column  was  composed  were  taken 
from  the  enemy. 

Hollo  and  Jennie,  in  looking  at  this  column 
from  the  window  of  their  hotel,  observed  that 
around  the  ifoot  of  it  there  was  a  square  space 
enclosed  by  an  iron  railing,  forming  a  sort  of 
vard      There  was  a  c;ate  in  the  front  side  of  this 


The  Garden  of  the  Tuileries.    83 

The  sentinels.  Defcrfption  of  the  pedestal. 

railing.  This  gate  was  open  ;  but  there  were 
two  soldiers  standing  by  it,  with  guns  in  their 
hands,  as  if  to  prevent  any  body  from  going  in. 

The  column  itself,  as  is  usual  with  such  col- 
umns, did  not  stand  directly  upon  the  ground, 
but  upon  a  square  pedestal,  which  was  built  of 
massive  blocks  of  granite,  resting  on  a  deep  and 
strong  foundation  ;  and  as  the  column  itself  was 
twelve  feet  in  diameter,  the  pedestal,  being  ne- 
cessarily somewhat  larger,  was  quite  a  consid- 
erable structure.  In  the  front  of  it,  opposite 
the  gate  in  the  iron  railing,  was  a  door.  The 
door  was  open,  but  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but 
darkness  within. 

"  I  wonder  what  they  do  in  there  ? "  said 
Rollo.  "  The  gate  is  open,  and  the  door  is 
open  ;  but  I  suppose  the  soldiers  would  not  let 
any  body  go  in  to  see.  Do  you  suppose,  Jennie, 
that  it  can  be  possible  that  there  is  any  way  to 
get  up  to  the  top  of  the  column  by  going  in  at 
.hat  door  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Jennie ;  and  so  saying,  she 
pointed  eagerly  to  the  top  of  the  column,  and 
added,  "For  there  are  some  boys  up  there 
now." 

Rollo  looked  up  to  the  top  of  the  column. 
There  was  a  statue  of  Napoleon  upon  the  sum 
mit,  which  appeared  to  be  of  about  the  ordinary 


84  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Deceptive  appearances.  Jennie's  fear. 

size  of  a  man,  though  it  is  really  about  eight 
times  as  large  as  life,  being  twice  as  large  in 
every  dimension.  It  looks  small,  on  account  of 
its  being  so  high  in  the  air.  Beneath  this  statue 
and  around  the  top  of  the  column  the  children 
saw  that  there  was  a  small  gallery,  with  a  railing 
on  the  outside  of  it.  Several  persons  were 
standing  on  this  gallery,  leaning  on  the  railing. 
At  first  Rollo  thought  that  they  were  sculptured 
figures  placed  there,  like  the  statue  of  Napoleon 
on  the  top,  for  ornament ;  but  presently  he  saw 
some  of  them  move  about,  which  convinced  him 
that  they  were  real  men.  Two  of  them  were 
soldiers,  as  was  evident  from  the  red  uniform 
which  they  wore.  But  they  all  looked  exceed- 
ingly small. 

"  There  must  be  a  staircase  inside,"  said  Rollo, 
•'  or  else  some  ladders.  If  not,  how  could  those 
men  get  up  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Jennie. 

''  I  should  like  to  go  up  there  very  much," 
said  Rollo,  "  if  I  could  only  get  by  the  soldiers." 

"  I  should  not  dare  to  go  up  to  such  a  high 
place,"  said  Jennie,  shaking  her  head  solemnly. 

At  the  foot  of  the  column  and  outside  of  the 
railing  which  formed  the  enclosure  around  the 
pedestal  was  a  very  broad  and  smooth  place,  as 
smooth  as  a  floor,  and  raised   like   a   sidewalk 


The  G-ardenof  the  Tuilebies.    85 

Description  of  the  square.  Mr  and  Mrs.  Holiday  return. 


above  the  street.  It  was  very  broad,  and  people 
walked  over  it  in  passing  through  the  square. 
There  was  only  one  way  of  passing  through  the 
square,  and  that  was  from  north  to  south.  From 
east  to  west  there  was  no  street,  but  the  ranges  of 
houses  and  palaces  continued  on  those  sides  un- 
broken. These  edifices  presented  a  very  fine 
architectural  frontage  toward  the  square,  and 
gave  to  the  whole  space  which  they  enclosed  a 
very  rich  and  grand  appearance.  Over  the  doors 
of  two  or  three  of  the  houses  there  were  small 
tricolored  flags  flying  ;  and  wherever  these  flags 
were,  there  were  soldiers  on  the  sidewalk  below 
guarding  the  doors.  But  neither  Rollo  nor 
Jennie  was  able  to  imagine  what  this  could  mean. 
About  three  o'clock,  when  Rollo  and  Jennie 
had  began  to  be  tired  of  looking  at  the  column, 
their  mother  came  into  the  room.  She  said  that 
Mr.  Holiday  was  fatigued  and  was  going  to  lie 
down,  and  that  neither  he  nor  herself  would  go 
out  again.  Rollo  then  asked  if  he  and  Jennie 
might  go  out  and  take  a  walk.  His  mother 
seemed  to  hesitate  about  it,  but  presently  said 
that  she  would  go  and  ask  Mr.  Holiday  i? 
he  thought  it  would  be  safe.  She  accordingly 
went  into  the  bed  room,  and  very  soon  returned, 
saying  that  Mr.  Holiday  thought  it  would  be  safe 
for  them  to  £o  if  he  save  them  some  directions. 


Rollo   in  Parts. 


Mr.  Holiday's  directions.  The  Street  of  Peace. 

"  He  says,"  added  Mrs.  Holiday,  "  that  you 
may  get  ready,  and  then  go  into  his  room,  and  he 
will  give  you  the  directions.  Only  you  must  not 
talk  much  with  him,  for  it  hurts  him  to  talk.  Hear 
what  he  has  to  say,  and  then  come  out  imme- 
diately." 

So  the  children  made  themselves  ready,  and 
then  went  into  their  father's  room.  They  found 
him  sitting  in  a  great  arm  chair  by  a  window 
where  the  sun  was  shining.  He  looked  pale  and 
tired.  When  the  children  came  in,  however,  he 
turned  to  them  with  a  smile,  and  said, — 

"  Children,  I  am  glad  you  are  going  out  to  take 
a  walk.  You  can  go  very  safely,  if  you  follow 
my  directions. 

"  This  is  the  Place  Yendome.  There  are  only 
two  ways  of  going  out  of  it.  One  leads  to  the 
north,  and  the  other  to  the  south. 

"  If  you  take  the  road  which  goes  to  the  north, 
that  is,  that  way,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  pointing, 
"you  will  go  out  by  the  street  which  is  called 
the  Street  of  Peace.*  The  Street  of  Peace  is 
straight,  and  pretty  broad  ;  and  if  you  follow  it  to 
the  end  of  it,  you  will  come  to  the  Boulevards." 

"What  are  the  Boulevards?  "  asked  Rollo. 

*  Mr.  Holiday  called  this  street,  of  course,  by  its  French  name  ; 
but  we  give  its  name  here  in  English,  for  the  convenience  of  th 
reader,  who  may,  perhaps,  not  be  able  to  pronounce  French 


The  Garden  op  the  Tuileries.    87 

The  Boulevards.  Their  history.  Rollo's  interruptions. 

"  Hush.  I  "  said  Jennie,  gently  touching  Rollo 
at  the  same  time  with  her  hand. 

"  Boulevards,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  means  bul- 
warks. A  great  many  years  ago  there  was  a 
line  of  bulwarks  or  fortifications  all  around 
Paris ;  but  at  length,  when  the  city  grew  too 
large  for  them,  they  levelled  them  down  and 
made  a  very  broad  and  handsome  street  where 
they  had  been,  and  then  afterward  made  a  new 
line  of  fortifications  farther  out.  This  broad 
and  handsome  street,  or  rather,  series  of  streets, 
is  called  the  Boulevards.  It  extends  almost  en- 
tirely around  the  city.  Of  course,  when  you  get 
into  the  Boulevards,  you  are  in  no  danger  of 
losing  yourselves  ;  for  you  can  go  on  as  far  as 
you  please,  either  way,  and  then  come  back  to  the 
Street  of  Peace  again,  and  then  come  home." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  understand." 

Here  Jennie  gently  touched  Rollo  again,  to 
remind  him  that  he  was  not  to  talk. 

"  You  will  know  the  Boulevards  at  once  when 
you  come  to  them,"  continued  Mr.  Holiday, 
"  they  are  so  much  broader  and  more  beautiful 
than  any  of  the  other  streets  of  Paris.  Even 
the  sidewalks  are  as  wide  as  many  ordinary 
streets  ;  and  there  are  rows  of  young  trees  along 
the  edges  of  the  sidewalks.  Now,  if  you  choose; 
you  can  go  out  from  the  Place  Vendome  on  the 


88  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  Tuileries.  A  wall  of  green  troes. 


northern  side,  by  the  Street  of  Peace,  and  so 
walk  on  till  you  come  to  the  Boulevards.  Then 
you  can  walk  along  the  Boulevards  as  far  as  you 
please. 

"  Or,"  continued  Mr.  Holiday,  "you  can  take 
the  opposite  course.  You  can  go  out  of  the 
Place  Vendome  on  the  southern  side.  That  will 
bring  you  directly  in  the  garden  of  the  Tui- 
leries." 

"  I  should  like  to  go  into  a  garden,"  said 
Jennie,  "  and  see  the  flowers." 

"  You  will  see,"  continued  Mr.  Holiday,  "  as 
soon  as  you  begin  to  go  out  of  the  Place  Yen- 
dome,  at  a  little  distance  before  you,  perhaps  as 
far  as  two  or  three  blocks  in  New  York,  a  wall 
of  green  trees." 

"  A  wall  of  green  trees !  "  exclaimed  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  his  father.  "  It  is  a  thick  row  of 
trees  growing  in  the  garden,  and  having  the  side 
toward  the  street  trimmed  smooth  and  straight 
like  a  wall.  The  entrance  through  this  range 
of  trees,  opposite  the  gateway  where  you  go  into 
the  garden,  looks  like  an  archway  in  a  green 
wall.  You  will  see  it  before  you  as  soon  as  you 
turn  the  corner  of  this  hotel  into  the  street  that 
leads  that  way.  You  can  walk  straight  on  till 
you  come  to  the  place.  There  you  will  find  the 
entrance  to  the  garden.     There  is  a  very  high 


The  Garden  of  the  Tuileries.   89 

The  garden  at  the  gateway.  The  Grand  Alley. 

iron  palisade  along  the  side  of  the  garden 
toward  the  street,  with  the  rows  of  trees  which 
I  have  spoken  of  inside  of  it.  There  is  a  gate- 
way through  this  palisade  where  you  can  go  in. 
There  are  two  soldiers  there  to  guard  the  gate- 
way." 

"  Then  how  can  we  get  in  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  0,  go  right  in," replied  Mr.  Holiday.  "Pay 
no  attention  to  the  soldiers.  They  will  not  say 
any  thing  to  you.     They  are  only  sentinels. 

"  After  you  pass  through  the  gateway,  you 
keep  on  in  the  same  direction,  without  turning  to 
the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  just  as  if  you  were 
going  across  the  garden.  You  go  on  in  this 
way  till  you  get  to  the  middle  alley,  which  is  a 
very  wide  alley,  that  runs  up  and  down  the  mid- 
dle of  the  garden.  This  alley  is  called  the 
Grand  Alley,  and  it  is  a  very  grand  alley  indeed. 
It  is  as  broad  as  a  very  wide  street,  and  it  is 
nearly  two  miles  long.*  It  begins  at  the  palace 
of  the  Tuileries,  in  the  middle  of  the  city,  and 
extends  through  the  whole  length  of  the  gardens 
of  the  Tuileries  ;  and  then,  passing  out  through 
great  gates  at  the  foot  of  the  garden,  it  extends 
through  the  Elysian  Fields,  away  out  to  the  great 
Triumphal   Arch   of    the  Star,  which   von  ?aw 


30  Rollo   in  Paris, 


The  prospect  on  the  Grand  Alley.  The  Egyptian  obelisk. 

from  the  cars  when  you  were  coming  into  the 
city. 

"  Now,  when  you  get  into  the  Grand  Alley 
which  you  will  know  by  its  being  the  broadest, 
and  smoothest,  and  most  splendid  grand  walk 
that  you  ever  saw,  you  must  stop  for  a  minute, 
and  look  both  ways.  I'll  tell  you  what  you  will 
see.  First,  if  you  turn  to  the  left,  that  is,  to- 
ward the  east,  you  will  see  at  the  end  of  the 
alley,  in  that  direction,  a  long  range  of  splendid 
buildings,  extending  across  from  side  to  side. 
In  the  opposite  direction,  at  the  top  of  a  long, 
gentle  slope,  a  mile  and  a  half  away,  you  will 
see  the  grand  Triumphal  Arch.  That  is  at  the 
barrier  of  the  city.  The  view  is  not  entirely 
open,  however,  out  to  the  arch.  About  midway, 
in  the  centre  of  the  Grand  Alley,  is  a  tall  obelisk, 
standing  on  a  high  pedestal,  and  farther  along 
there  are  one  or  two  fountains.  Still  you  can 
see  the  Triumphal  Arch  very  plainly,  it  is  so 
large,  and  it  stands  so  high. 

"Now,  the  Grand  Alley  is  nearly  two  mileg 
long,  and,  wherever  you  may  be  in  it,  you  can 
always  see  the  palace  at  one  end,  the  arch  at 
the  other,  and  the  Egyptian  obelisk  in  the 
middle.  So  that,  as  long  as  you  walk  back  and 
forth  in  this  alley,  keeping  these  things  in  sight, 
you  cannot  lose  your  way. 


The   Garden  of  the  Tuileries.   9i 

The  basin  at  the  foot  of  the  garden.  The  scene  beyond. 

"  Only  I  ought  to  say,"  continued  Mr.  Holiday, 
:'  that  the  garden  does  not  extend  all  the  way  to 
the  barrier.  The  garden  extends,  perhaps,  half 
a  mile.  Near  the  bottom  of  it  is  a  great  basin 
or  pond  of  water,  with  a  stone  margin  to  it  all 
around.  You  will  have  to  go  round  this  basin, 
for  the  centre  of  it  is  exactly  in  the  middle  of 
the  Grand  Alley.  Then  you  come  very  soon  to 
the  end  of  the  garden,  and  you  will  go  out 
through  great  iron  gates,  but  still  you  will  keep 
on  in  the  same  direction.  Here  you  will  come 
to  a  very  large,  open  square,  with  the  obelisk  in 
the  centre  of  it,  and  fountains  and  statues  in  it 
all  around.  Still  you  will  keep  straight  on 
across  this  square,  only  you  will  have  to  turn 
aside  to  go  round  the  obelisk.  After  you  pass 
through  the  square,  the  Grand  Alley  still  con- 
tinues on,  though  now  it  becomes  a  Grand 
Avenue,  leading  through  pleasure  grounds,  with 
ranges  of  trees  and  of  buildings  on  either  side. 
It  becomes  very  wide  here,  being  as  wide  as  two 
or  three  ordinary  streets,  and  will  be  filled  with 
carriages  and  horsemen.  But  there  will  be  good 
broad  sidewalks  for  you  on  either  hand,  under 
the  shade  of  the  trees  ;  and  you  will  know  where 
you  are  all  the  time,  for  you  can  always  see  the 
palace  at  one  end  of  the  view,  and  the  great 


Rollo   in  Paris. 


The  children's  choice.  The  map. 

Triumphal  Arch  at  the  other,  with  the  obelisk 
in  the  middle  between  them. 

"The  amount  of  it  is,"  added  Mr.  Holiday, 
speaking  in  a  tone  as  if  he  were  about  finishing 
his  instructions,  "  you  can  go  out  of  the  Place 
Vendome  to  the  north,  and  keep  straight  on  till 
you  come  to  the  Boulevards,  and  walk  there 
cither  way  as  far  as  you  like.  Or  you  can  go 
south,  and  keep  straight  on  till  you  come  to  the 
middle  of  the  Grand  Alley  of  the  garden  of  the 
Tuileries,  and  then  walk  in  the  Grand  Alley  and 
the  Grand  Avenue  which  forms  the  continuation 
of  it  as  long  as  you  like.  Which  way  will 
you  go  ? " 

"  I  would  rather  go  to  the  garden,"  said  Rollo, 
looking  toward  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Jennie,  "  and  so  would  I." 

Thus  it  was  settled  that  they  were  to  take  the 
street  which  led  toward  the  south  from  the  Place 
Vendome  ;  and  so.  bidding  their  father  good  by, 
they  went  away.  Before  leaving  the  house, 
however,  Rollo  went  to  a  secretary  which  stood 
in  the  parlor,  and  took  down  a  map,  in  order  to 
show  Jennie  the  places  which  his  father  had 
mentioned,  and  to  make  it  sure  that  they  under- 
stood the  directions  which  they  had  received. 
Rollo  found  the  Place  Vendome  very  readily  upon 
the  map,  and  the  street  leading  to  the  garden*. 


The  Garden  op  the  Tuileries.    93 

Rollo  finds  the  garden  upon  the  map. 

He  also  found  the  Grand  Alley  running  through 
the  garden  ;  and  following  this  alley  between 
the  rows  of  trees,  he  showed  Jennie  a  small 
circle  which  he  thought  must  be  the  basin  of 
water,  and  the  place  where  the  obelisk  stood  ; 
and  finally  he  pointed  out  the  place  where  the 
Grand  Alley  widened  out  into  the  Grand  Avenue 
and  led  on  toward  the  barrier. 

Jennie  did  not  understand  the  map  very  well ; 
but  she  seemed  satisfied  with  Hollo's  assurances 
that  he  himself  could  find  all  the  places. 

"  It  is  all  right,  you  may  depend,"  said  Rollo. 
"  I  can  find  the  way,  you  may  be  sure." 

So  he  put  up  the  map,  bade  his  mother  good 
by,  and  then  he  and  Jennie  sallied  forth. 

The  hotel  was  situated  on  the  corner  of  the 
Place  Vendome  and  the  street  which  led  to- 
ward the  garden  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  children 
had  turned  this  corner,  after  coming  out  from 
under  the  archway  of  the  hotel,  they  saw  at  some 
distance  before  them,  at  the  end  of  the  street, 
the  iron  palisade,  and  the  green  wall  of  trees 
above  it,  which  formed  the  boundary  of  the 
garden. 

"  There  it  is !  "  exclaimed  Rollo.  "  There  is  the 
garden  and  the  gateway  !  and  it  is  not  very  far !  " 

The  children  walked  along  upon  the  side- 
walk hand   in   hand,  looking  sometimes  at  the 


94  RolloinFaris. 

What  Rollo  and  Jennie  see  in  the  street. 

elegant  carriages  which  rolled  by  them  from 
time  to  time  in  the  street,  and  sometimes  at  the 
groups  of  ladies  and  children  that  passed  them 
on  the  sidewalk.  At  the  first  corner  that  they 
came  to,  Rollo's  attention  was  attracted  by  the 
sight  of  a  man  who  had  a  box  on  the  edge  of 
the  sidewalk,  with  a  little  projection  on  the  top 
of  it  shaped  like  a  man's  foot.  Rollo  wondered 
what  it  was  for.  Just  before  he  reached  the 
place,  however,  he  saw  a  gentleman,  who  then 
happened  to  come  along,  stop  before  the  box  and 
put  his  foot  on  the  projection.  Immediately  tht 
man  took  out  some  brushes  and  some  blacking 
from  the  inside  of  the  box,  which  was  open  on 
the  side  where  the  man  was  standing,  and  began 
to  brush  the  gentleman's  boot. 

"  Now,  how  convenient  that  is  !  "  said  Rollo. 
"  If  you  get  your  shoes  or  your  boots  muddy  or 
dusty,  you  can  stop  and  have  them  brushed." 

So  saying,  he  looked  down  at  his  own  boots, 
almost  in  hopes  that  he  should  find  that  they 
needed  brushing,  in  order  that  he  might  try  the 
experiment;  but  they  looked  very  clean  and 
bright,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  excuse  for 
having  them  brushed  again. 

Besides,  Jennie  was  pulling  him  by  the  hand,  to 
hasten,  him  along.  She  said  at  the  same  time,  in 
an  undertone, — 


The  Garden  of  the  Tuileries.   95 

J'hs  lady  led  by  a  dog.  The  entrance  to  the  garden. 

"  Look,  Rollo,  look !  See  !  there  is  a  blind  lady 
walking  along  before  us !  " 

"Blind?"  repeated  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Jennie  ;  "  don't  you  see  the  little 
dog  leading  her  ?  " 

There  was  a  little  dog  walking  along  at  a 
little  distance  before  the  lady,  with  a  beautiful 
collar  round  his  neck,  and  a  cord  attached  to  it. 
The  lady  had  the  other  end  of  the  cord  in  her 
hand. 

"  I  don't  believe  she  is  blind,"  said  Rollo. 

As  the  children  passed  by  the  lady  she  turned 
and  looked  at  them,  or  seemed  to  look,  and 
manifested  no  indications  of  being  blind.  After- 
ward Jennie  saw  a  great  many  other  ladies 
walking  with  little  dogs,  which  they  led,  or 
which  led  them,  by  means  of  a  cord  which  the 
owner  of  the  dog  held  in  her  hand.  There  were 
so  many  of  these  cases  that  Jennie  was  com- 
pelled to  give  up  the  idea  of  their  being  blind  ; 
but  she  said  that  she  never  knew  any  body  but 
blind  people  led  about  by  dogs  before. 

At  length  the  children  arrived  at  the  entrance 
to  the  garden.  It  was  on  the  farther  side  of  a 
broad  and  beautiful  street  which  ran  along 
there,  just  outside  of  the  enclosure.  The  pal- 
isades were  of  iron,  though  the  tops  were  tipped 
with  gilding,  and  they  were  very  high.     They 


J)(i  Rollo    IN    rAEIS. 

The  sentry  boxes  and  the  sentinels.  The  terrace. 

were  more  than  twice  as  high  as  a  man's  head. 
The  lower  ends  of  them  were  set  firmly  in  a  wall 
of  very  substantial  masonry.  The  gateway  was 
very  wide,  and  it  had  sentry  boxes  on  each  side 
of  it.  A  soldier,  with  his  bayonet  fixed,  was 
standing  in  front  of  each  sentry  box.  "When 
Jennie  saw  these  soldiers  she  shrank  back,  and 
seemed  afraid  to  go  in.  In  fact,  Rollo  himself 
appeared  somewhat  disposed  to  hesitate.  In  a 
moment,  however,  a  number  of  persons  who 
came  along  upon  the  sidewalk  turned  in  at  the 
gates,  and  went  into  the  yard.  The  soldiers 
paid  no  attention  to  them.  Rollo  and  Jane, 
seeing  this,  took  courage,  and  went  in,  too. 

On  passing  through  the  gates,  the  children 
found  themselves  on  a  very  broad  terrace,  which 
ran  along  on  that  side  of  the  garden.  The  sur- 
face of  the  terrace  was  gravelled  for  a  walk,  and 
it  was  very  smooth  and  beautiful.  While  stand- 
ing on,  or  walking  upon  it,  you  could  look  on 
one  side,  through  the  palisade,  and  see  the  car- 
riages in  the  street,  and  on  the  other  side  yon 
could  look  over  alow  wall  down  into  the  garden 
which  was  several  feet  below.  The  descent  into 
the  garden  was  by  a  flight  of  stone  steps.  Tho 
children,  after  staying  a  little  time  upon  the  ter- 
race, went  down  the  steps.  They  came  out  upon 
a  very  broad  avenue,  or  alley,  which  formed  the 


The  Garden  op  the  Tuileries.    97 


Orange  trees  on  wheels.  The  forest  in  the  garden. 

side  of  the  garden.  This  alley  was  very  broad 
indeed,  so  broad  that  it  was  divided  into  three 
by  orange  trees,  which  extended  up  and  down  in 
long  rows  parallel  to  the  street,  almost  as  far  as 
vou  could  see,  and  forming  beautiful  vistas  in 
each  direction.  These  orange  trees,  though  very 
large,  were  not  set  in  the  ground,  but  were 
planted  in  monstrous  boxes,  painted  green  and 
set  on  rollers.  The  reason  of  this  was,  so  that 
they  could  be  moved  away  in  the  winter,  and  put 
in  a  building  where  they  could  be  kept  warm. 

This  broad  alley,  the  great  side  alley  of  the 
garden  on  the  side  toward  the  city,  was  called 
the  Alley  of  the  Oranges.  There  is  another 
similar  alley  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  garden, 
which  is  toward  the  river,  and  that  is  called  the 
Alley  of  the  Riverside. 

Passing  across  the  three  portions  of  the  Alley 
of  the  Oranges,  the  children  went  on  toward 
the  centre  of  the  garden.  Instead,  however,  of 
such  a  garden  as  they  had  expected  to  see,  with 
fruits  and  flowers  in  borders  and  beds,  and  ser- 
pentine walks  winding  among  them,  as  Jennie 
had  imagined,  the  children  found  themselves  in  a 
sort  of  forest,  the  trees  of  which  were  planted 
regularly  in  rows,  with  straight  walks  here  and 
there  under  them. 

"  What  a  strange  gar len  ! "  said  Jennie. 


98  Rollo  in  Paris, 


Little  French  children.  Rollo  and  Jennie  in  the  Grand  Alley. 

"Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "But  we  must  not  stop 
here.  We  must  go  straight  on  through  the 
trees  until  we  come  to  the  Grand  Alley." 

In  fact,  Rollo  could  see  the  Grand  Alley,  as 
he  thought,  at  some  distance  before  him,  with 
people  walking  up  and  down  in  it.  There  were 
several  people,  too,  in  the  same  walk  with  Rollc 
and  Jane,  some  going  with  them  toward  the  Grand 
Alley,  and  others  coming  back  from  it.  Among 
these  were  two  children,  just  big  enough  to  gc 
alone,  who  were  prattling  in  French  together 
very  fluently  as  they  walked  along  before  their 
father  and  mother.  Jennie  said  she  wondered 
how  such  little  children  could  learn  to  speak 
French  so  well.  Another  child,  somewhat  older 
than  these,  was  trundling  a  hoop,  and  at  length 
unfortunately  she  fell  down  and  hurt  herself.  So, 
leaving  her  hoop  upon  the  ground,  she  came  to- 
ward the  maid  who  had  care  of  her,  crying,  and 
sobbing,  and  uttering  broken  exclamations,  all  in 
French,  which  seemed  to  Rollo  and  Jane  very 
surprising. 

At  length  the  children  came  out  into  the 
Grand  Alley.  They  knew  it  immediately  when 
they  reached  it,  by  its  being  so  broad  and  mag- 
nificent, and  by  the  splendid  views  which  were 
presented  on  every  hand. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo, "  this  is  it,  I  am  sure.     There 


The  Garden  op  the  Tuileries.    99 

The  prospect  which  Rollo  saw  from  the  Grand  Alley. 

is  the  obelisk ;  and  there,  beyond  it,  on  the  top 
of  that  long  hill,  is  the  Triumphal  Arch  ;  and 
there,  the  other  way,  is  the  palace  of  the  Tui- 
leries.  Here  is  a  seat,  Jennie.  Let's  go  and  sit 
down." 

So  saying,  Rollo  led  Jennie  to  a  stone  seat 
which  was  placed  on  one  side  ot  the  alley,  at  the 
margin  of  the  grove  ;  and  there  they  sat  for  some 
time,  greatly  admiring  the  splendid  panorama 
which  was  spread  out  before  them.  What  hap- 
pened to  them  for  the  remainder  of  their  walk 
w"'7'  be  described  in  the  next  chapter. 
a 


100  Rollo  in  Paris, 


Rollo  and  Jennie  approach  the  basin  of  water. 


Chapter    V. 

The  Elysian  Fields. 

After  sitting  a  little  time  upon  the  stone 
bench,  Rollo  and  Jennie  rose  and  resumed  their 
walk.  The  alley  was  extremely  broad,  and  it 
was  almost  filled  with  parties  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, and  with  groups  of  children,  who  were 
walking  to  and  fro,  some  going  out  toward  the 
Triumphal  Arch,  and  some  returning.  Rollo 
and  Jennie,  as  they  walked  along,  said  very 
little  to  each  other,  their  attention  being  almost 
wholly  absorbed  by  the  gay  and  gorgeous  scene 
which  surrounded  them.  At  length  they  per- 
ceived that,  at  a  little  distance  before  them,  the 
people  were  separating  to  the  right  hand  and  to 
the  left,  and  going  round  in  a  sort  of  circuit ;  and, 
on  coming  to  the  place,  they  found  that  the  great 
basin,  or  pond  of  water,  which  Mr.  Holiday  had 
described  to  them,  was  there.  This  pond  was 
very  large,  much  larger  than  Rollo  had  expected 
from  his  father's  account  of  it.  It  was  octagonal 
in  form,  and  was  bordered  all  around  with  stone. 


The   Elysian  Fields.  101 

Gold  fishes.  Sailing  a  vessel.  Amusements  upon  the  Sabbath. 

There  were  a  number  of  children  standing  in 
groups  on  the  brink,  at  different  places ;  some 
were  watching  the  motions  of  the  gold  fish  that 
were  swimming  in  the  water,  and  others  were 
looking  at  a  little  ship  which  a  boy  was  sailing 
on  the  pond.  The  boy  had  a  long  thread  tied 
to  the  bow  of  his  ship  ;  and  when  the  wind  had 
blown  it  out  upon  the  pond  to  the  length  of  the 
string,  he  would  pull  it  back  to  the  shore  again, 
and  then  proceed  to  send  it  forth  on  another 
voyage. 

Rollo  thought  it  strange  that  they  should  be 
thus  employed  on  the  Sabbath  ;  for  he  had  been 
brought  up  to  believe,  that,  although  it  was  very 
right  and  proper  to  take  a  quiet  walk  in  a  gar- 
den or  in  the  fields  toward  the  close  of  the  day,  it 
was  not  right,  but  would,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
displeasing  to  God,  for  any  one,  old  or  young 
to  spend  any  part  of  the  day  which  God  had 
consecrated  to  his  own  service  and  to  the 
spiritual  improvement  of  the  soul  in  ordinary 
sports  and  amusements.  Jennie,  too,  had  the 
same  feeling ;  and  accordingly,  after  standing 
with  Rollo  for  a  moment  near  the  margin  of  the 
water,  looking  at  the  fishes  and  the  vessels,  and 
at  the  group  of  children  that  were  there,  she 
began  to  pull  Rollo  by  the  hand,  saying,  — 

"  Come,  Rollo,  I  think  we  had  better  go  along.' 


102  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Out  of  the  garden.  The  obelisk  and  the  fountains. 

Rollo  at  once  acceded  to  this  proposal,  and 
they  both  walked  on.  They  soon  found  them- 
selves passing  out  of  the  garden,  though  the 
space  on  each  side  of  the  broad  alley  in  which 
they  were  walking  was  bordered  with  so  many 
walls,  palisades,  terraces,  statues,  and  columns, 
and  the  gateway  which  led  out  from  the  garden 
into  the  square  was  so  broad,  and  was  so  filled 
up,  moreover,  with  the  people  who  were  going  and 
coming,  that  it  was  difficult  to  tell  where  the  gar- 
den ended  and  the  great  square  began.  At 
length,  however,  it  began  to  be  plain  that  they 
were  out  of  the  garden  ;  for  the  view,  instead  of 
being  shut  in  by  trees,  became  very  widely  ex- 
tended on  either  hand.  It  was  terminated  on 
one  side  by  ranges  of  magnificent  buildings,  and 
on  the  other  by  bridges  leading  across  the  river, 
with  various  grand  and  imposing  edifices  be- 
yond. In  the  centre  of  the  square  the  tall  form 
of  the  obelisk  towered  high  into  the  air,  gently 
tapering  as  it  ascended,  and  terminating  sud- 
denly at  its  apex  in  a  point. 

The  square,  though  open,  was  not  empty.  Be- 
sides the  obelisk,  which  stood  in  the  centre  of 
it,  on  its  lofty  pedestal,  there  were  two  great 
fountains  and  colossal  statues  of  marble ;  and 
lofty  columns  of  bronze  and  gilt,  for  the  gas- 
lights ;  and  raised  sidewalks,  smooth  as  a  floor, 


The  Elysian  Fields.  103 

A  curiotis  pavement.  The  construction  of  the  fnuiitniiia. 

formed  of  a  sort  of  artificial  stone,  which  was 
continuous  over  the  whole  surface,  which  was 
covered  by  it,  without  fissure  or  seam.  There 
were  roadways,  also,  crossing  the  place  in  vari- 
ous directions,  with  carriages  and  l.orsemen  upon 
them  continually  coming  and  going.  The  great 
fountains  were  very  curiously  contrived.  The 
constructions  were  thirty  or  forty  feet  high. 
They  consisted  of  three  great  basins,  one  above 
the  other.  The  smallest  was  at  the  top,  and  was, 
of  course,  high  in  the  air.  A  column  of  water 
was  spouting  out  from  the  middle  of  it,  and,  after 
rising  a  little  way  into  the  air,  the  water  fell 
back  into  the  basin,  and,  filling  it  full,  it  run  over 
the  edge  of  it  into  the  basin  below. 

This  was  the  middle  basin,  and,  besides  the 
water  which  fell  into  it  from  the  basin  above,  it 
received  also  a  great  supply  from  streams  that 
came  from  the  great  basin  below,  like  the  jets 
from  the  hose  of  a  fire  engine  when  a  house  is  on 
fire.  There  was  a  row  of  bronze  figures,  shaped 
like  men,  in  the  water  of  the  lowest  basin  of  all, 
each  holding  a  fish  in  his  arms  ;  and  the  jets  of 
water  which  were  thrown  up  to  the  middle  basin 
from  the  lower  one  came  out  of  the  mouths  of 
these  fishes.  The  fishes  were  very  large,  and 
they  were  shaped  precisely  like  real  fishes,  al- 
though thev  were  made  of  bronze. 


104  Rollo   in  Paris. 

An  unexpected  meeting.  The  column  in  the  Place  Vendome. 

The  children  looked  at  the  fountains  as  they 
walked  along,  and  at  length  came  to  the  foot  of 
the  obelisk.  They  stopped  a  minute  or  two 
there,  and  looked  up  to  the  top  of  it.  It  was  as 
tall  as  a  steeple.  Rollo  was  wondering  whether 
it  would  be  possible  in  any  way  to  get  to  the  top 
of  it ;  and  he  told  Jennie  that  he  did  not  think 
that  there  was  any  way,  for  he  did  not  see  any 
place  where  any  body  could  stand  if  they  should 
succeed  in  get'ing  there.  While  they  both  stood 
thus  gazing  upward,  they  suddenly  heard  a  well- 
known  voice  behind  them,  saying,  — 

"  Well,  children,  what  do  you  think  of  the 
Obelisk  of  Luxor  ?  " 

They  turned  round  and  beheld  their  uncle 
George.  They  were,  of  course,  very  much  as- 
tonished to  see  him.  He  was  walking  with 
another  young  gentleman,  a  friend  of  his  from 
America,  whom  he  had  accidentally  met  with  in 
Paris.  When  the  children  had  recovered  from 
the  surprise  of  thus  unexpectedly  meeting  him,  he 
repeated  his  question. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  obelisk  ?  " 

"  I  don't  believe  it  is  so  high,"  replied  Rollo, 
"as  the  column  in  the  Place  Vendome." 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  it  is  not." 

"  Nor  so  large,"  added  Rollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George. 


The  Ely  si  an  Fields. 


105 


TIm  obelisk  is  a  single  stone. 


"  And  I  don't  believe  that  there  is  any  way  to 
get  to  the  top  of  it,"  added  Rollo. 

"No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "there  is  not.  The 
column  in  the  Place  Vendome  is  hollow,  and  has 
a  staircase  inside  ;  but  this  obelisk  is  solid  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  is  formed  of  one  single  stone. 
That  is  the  great  wonder  of  it." 


THE  OBELISK. 


"  Look  up,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  to  the  top  of 
it.  It  is  as  high  as  a  steeple.  See  how  large  it 
is,  too,  at  the  base.  Think  how  enormously  heavy 
such  an  immense  stone  must  be.     What  a  work 


106  Rollo  in  Paris. 

The  pedestal.  Curious  history  of  the  obelisk. 

it  must  have  been  to  lift  it  up  and  stand  it  on  its 
end  1  Besides,  it  does  not  rest  upon  the  ground, 
but  upon  another  monstrous  stone,  the  pedestal 
of  which  is  nearly  thirty  feet  high ;  so  that,  in 
setting  it  up  in  its  place,  the  engineers  had  not 
only  to  lift  it  up  on  end,  but  they  had  to  raise  the 
whole  mass,  bodily,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  into  the 
air.  I  suppose  it  was  one  of  the  greatest  lifts 
that  ever  was  made. 

"  There  is  another  tiling  that  is  very  curious 
about  the  obelisk,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  and 
that  is  its  history.  It  was  not  made  originally 
for  this  place.  It  was  made  in  Egypt,  thousands 
and  thousands  of  years  ago,  nobody  knows  how 
long.  There  are  several  others  of  the  same 
kind  still  standing.  Some  years  ago,  this  one  and 
another  were  given  to  the  French  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  Egypt,  and  the  French  king  sent  a 
large  company  of  men  to  take  this  one  down  and 
bring  it  to  Paris.  They  built  an  immense  ves- 
sel on  purpose  for  transporting  it.  This  vessel 
they  sent  to  Egypt.  It  went  up  the  Nile  as  near 
to  the  place  where  the  obelisk  stood  as  it  could 
go.  The  place  was  called  Luxor.  The  obelisk 
stood  back  at  some  distance  from  the  river  ;  and 
there  were  several  Arab  huts  near  it,  which  it 
was  necessary  to  pull  down.  There  were  also 
several  other  houses    in  the  way  by  the  coursa 


The  Elysian  Fields.  107 

How  the  French  engineers  contrived  to  bring  this  monument  from  Egypt. 

which  the  obelisk  must  take  in  going  to  the 
river.  The  French  engineers  bought  all  these 
houses,  and  pulled  them  down.  Then  they  made 
a  road  leading  from  the  place  where  the  obelisk 
stood  to  the  river.  Then  they  cased  the  whole 
stone  in  wood,  to  prevent  its  getting  broken  or 
injured  on  the  way.  Then  they  lowered  it  down 
by  means  of  immense  machines  which  they  con- 
structed for  the  purpose,  and  so  proceeded  to 
draw  it  to  the  river.  But  with  all  their  machines, 
it  was  a  prodigiously  difficult  work  to  get  it 
along.  It  took  eight  hundred  men  to  move  it, 
and  so  slowly  did  it  go  that  these  eight  hundred 
men  worked  three  months  in  getting  it  to  the 
landing.  There  they  made  a  great  platform,  and 
so  rolled  it  on  board  the  float.  There  was  a 
steamer  at  hand  to  take  it  in  tow,  and  it  was 
brought  to  France.  It  then  took  five  or  six 
months  to  bring  it  across  the  country  from  the 
sea  shore  to  Paris. 

"  When,  at  last,  they  got  it  here,  it  took  them 
nearly  a  year  to  construct  the  machines  for  rais- 
ing it.  They  built  the  pedestal  for  it  to  stand 
upon,  which  you  see  is  as  high  as  a  two-story 
house,  and  then  appointed  a  day  for  the  raising. 
All  the  world,  almost,  came  to  see.  This  whole 
equare  was  full.  There  were  more  than  a  hun- 
dred  thousand  persons  here.     The  king  came, 


108  Rollo   in   Farts. 

Raising  the  obelisk.      Diagrams  of  machinery,  and  Egyptian  hieroglyphics 

and  his  family,  and  all  his  generals  and  great 
officers.  It  was  the  greatest  raising  that  ever 
was  seen." 

"  Why,  there  must  have  been  just  as  great  a 
raising,"  said  Rollo,  "  when  they  first  put  it  up  id 
Egypt." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  because  there  it 
stood  nearly  upon  the  ground,  but  here  it  is  on 
the  top  of  a  lofty  pedestal.  Look  there  1  Those 
are  pictures  of  the  machines  which  they  raised 
it  by." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George,  pointed  to  beautifully 
gilded  diagrams  which  were  sculptured  upon 
one  side  of  the  pedestal.  There  were  beams, 
and  ropes,  and  pulleys  without  number,  with  the 
obelisk  among  them  ;  but  Rollo  could  not  un- 
derstand the  operation  of  the  machinery  very 
well.  The  obelisk  itself  was  covered  on  all 
sides  with  ancient  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  deeply 
cut  into  the  stone  ;  but  the  children  could  not  un- 
derstand the  hieroglyphics  any  better  than  they 
could  the  machinery. 

After  looking  some  time  longer  at  the  obelisk 
and  the  various  objects  of  interest  that  were 
around  it,  the  whole  party  walked  on  together. 
Mr.  George  said  that  he  and  his  friend  were 
going  up  the  avenue  of  the  Elysian  Fields,  and 
that,  if   Rollo    and   Jennie  would    walk   along 


The   Elysian  Fields.  109 

Mr.  George's  proposal.  The  way  to  the  Triumphal  Arch. 

behind  them,  they  would  not  get  lost.  Jennie 
was  very  glad  of  this  ;  for  the  crowd  of  people 
that  were  coming  and  going  was  getting  to  be 
very  great,  and  she  was  a  little  afraid.  Hollo,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  rather  sorry.  The  Triumphal 
Arch  at  the  farther  end  of  the  avenue  was  in 
full  view,  and  thus  he  felt  sure  of  his  way  ;  and 
he  was  ambitious  of  the  honor  of  being  the  sole 
guide  in  the  excursion  which  he  and  Jane  were 
taking.  He,  however,  could  not  well  decline  his 
uncle's  invitation ;  so,  when  the  two  gentlemen 
moved  on,  Rollo  and  Jennie  followed  them. 

The  Grand  Avenue  was  a  very  broad  and 
beautiful  roadway,  gently  ascending  toward  the 
barrier,  and  now  perfectly  thronged  with  car- 
riages and  horsemen.  There  were  also  two  side 
avenues,  one  on  each  side  of  the  central  one. 
These  were  for  foot  passengers.  There  were 
rows  of  trees  between.  Beyond  the  side  ave- 
nues there  extended  on  either  hand  a  wood, 
formed  of  large  and  tall  trees,  planted  in  rows, 
and  standing  close  enough  together  to  shade  the 
whole  ground.  They  were,  however,  far  enougli 
apart  to  allow  of  open  and  unobstructed  motion 
among  them.  Under  these  trees,  and  in  open 
spaces  which  were  left  here  and  there  among 
them,  there  were  booths,  and  stalls,  and  tables, 
and  tents,   and   all    sorts   of   contrivances   for 


110  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Strange  sights.  The  boy  upon  the  black  pony. 

entertainment  and  pleasure,  with  crowds  of 
people  gathered  around  them  in  groups,  or  mov- 
ing slowly  from  one  to  the  other.  There  were 
men,  some  dressed  like  gentlemen,  and  others 
wearing  blue,  cartmen's  frocks  ;  and  women,  some 
with  bonnets  and  some  with  caps ;  and  children  of 
all  ages  and  sizes  ;  and  soldiers  without  number, 
with  blue  coats,  and  dark-red  trousers,  and  funny- 
caps,  without  any  brim,  except  the  visor.  In  the 
midst  of  all  these  multitudes  Mr.  George  and 
the  gentleman  who  was  with  him  slowly  led  the 
way  up  the  side  avenue,  Rollo  and  Jennie  follow- 
ing them,  quite  bewildered  with  the  extraordi- 
nary spectacles  which  were  continually  present- 
ing themselves  to  view  on  every  hand.  The  at- 
tention of  the  children  was  drawn  from  one 
object  or  incident  to  another,  with  so  much  sud- 
denness, and  so  rapidly,  that  they  had  no  time  to 
understand  one  thing  before  it  passed  away  and 
something  else  came  forward  into  view  and 
diverted  their  thoughts  ;  and  before  they  had  re- 
covered from  the  surprise  which  this  second 
thing  awakened,  they  had  come  to  a  third,  more 
Btrange  and  wonderful,  perhaps,  than  either  of 
the  preceding. 

A  boy,  very  young,  and  very  fantastically 
dressed,  came  riding  along  through  the  crowd, 
mounted  on  the  smallest  and  prettiest  black  pony 


The  Elysian  Fields.  Ill 

A  crowd.  The  itinerant  dealer  in  stockings.  A  queer  cash  bcx. 

that  Rollo  had  ever  seen,  and  distributing  as  he 
passed  along  some  sort  of  small  printed  papers 
to  all  who  came  near  enough  to  get  them.  Rollo 
tried  to  get  one  of  the  papers  to  see  what  it  was, 
but  he  did  not  succeed. 

"  How  I  wish  I  had  such  a  pony  as  that !  "  said 
Rollo. 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Jennie.  "  But  what  are  the 
people  doing  in  that  ring?" 

Rollo  saw  a  close  ring  of  people  all  crowding 
around  something  on  the  ground.  There  was  a 
man  inside  the  ring,  calling  out  something  very 
loud  and  very  incessantly.  Rollo  put  his  head 
between  two  of  the  spectators  to  see.  There 
was  a  man  seated  in  the  centre,  on  the  ground, 
with  a  cloth  spread  out  before  him,  on  which 
was  a  monstrous  heap  of  stockings,  of  all  kinds 
and  colors,  which  he  was  selling  as  fast  as  possi- 
ble to  the  men  and  women  that  had  gathered 
around  him.  He  sold  them  very  cheap,  and  the 
people  bought  them  very  fast.  He  put  the 
money,  as  fast  as  he  received  it,  in  his  cap. 
which  lay  on  the  ground  before  him,  and  served 
him  for  a  cash  box. 

"  Come,  Rollo,"  said  Jane,  pulling  Rollo  by 
the  hand,  "  we  must  go  along.  Uncle  George  is 
almost  out  of  sight." 

Rollo  turned  back  into  the  avenue  again,  and 


112  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  boy  baking  griddle  cakes.    The  miniature  omnibus  drawn  by  goats. 

began  to  walk  along.  In  a  moment  more  he 
saw  a  large  boy  standing  behind  a  curious-look- 
ing stove  in  an  open  space  near,  and  baking 
griddle  cakes.  There  was  a  very  nice  table  by 
his  side,  covered  with  a  white  cloth,  and  a  plate, 
on  which  the  boy  turned  out  the  griddle  cakes 
as  fast  as  they  were  baked.  There  were  several 
children  about  him,  buying  the  cakes  and  eating 
them. 

"Ah,  Jennie,"  said  Rollo,  "look  at  these 
cakes !  How  I  should  like  some  of  them !  If  it 
were  not  that  it  is  Sunday,  I  would  go  and  buy 
some." 

"  0  Rollo  !  "  exclaimed  Jennie,  "  look  here  ! 
See  what's  coming  !  " 

Rollo  looked,  and  saw  that  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  on  the  broad  walk  before  them  were 
moving  to  one  side  and  the  other,  to  make  room 
fur  a  most  elegant  little  omnibus,  drawn  by  six 
goats,  that  were  harnessed  before  it  like  horses. 
The  omnibus  was  made  precisely  like  a  large 
omnibus,  such  as  are  used  in  the  streets  of  Paris 
for  grown  persons  ;  only  this  one  was  small,  just 
large  enough  for  the  goats  to  draw.  It  was  very 
beautifully  painted,  and  had  elegant  silken  cur- 
tains. It  was  full  of  children,  who  were  looking 
out  the  windows  with  very  smiling  faces,  as  if 
they  were  enjoying  their  ride  very  much.     A 


The  Elysian  Fields.  113 

The  baraiehe  drawn  by  goats.  The  little  coachman. 


very  pretty  little  boy,  about  seven  years  of  age, 
was  holding  the  reins  of  the  goats,  and  appear- 
ing to  drive  ;  but  there  was  a  large  boy  walking 
along  by  the  side  of  the  goats  all  the  time,  to 
take  care  that  they  did  not  go  wrong.  The 
omnibus  belonged  to  his  father,  who  kept  it  to 
let  children  ride  in  it  on  their  paying  him  a 
small  sum  for  each  ride. 

Jennie  was  very  much  pleased  with  the  omni- 
bus ;  but  what  followed  it  pleased  her  still  more. 
This  was  a  carriage,  made  in  all  respects  like 
a  real  carriage,  and  large  enough  to  contain 
several  children.  It  was  open,  like  a  barouche, 
so  that  the  children  who  were  riding  in  it  could 
see  all  around  them  perfectly  well.  It  had  two 
seats  inside,  besides  a  high  seat  in  front  for  the 
coachman,  and  one  behind  for  the  footman. 
There  were  children  upon  all  these  seats.  There 
was  one  on  the  coachman's  box  to  drive.  The 
carriage,  like  the  omnibus,  was  drawn  by  goats, 
only  there  were  four  instead  of  six.  The  coach- 
man drove  them  by  means  of  long,  silken 
reins. 

As  soon  as  the  omnibus  and  the  carriage  had 
passed  by,  and  the  crowd  had  closed  again  be- 
hind them  so  as  to  conceal  them  from  view, 
Rollo  and  Jennie  looked  about  for  Mr.  George 
and   the  other   gentleman ;   but   they  were  no- 


114  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Rollo  adopts  the  obelisk  as  a  landmark.      The  French  girl  reading  a  notica 

where  to  be  seen.  Jane  was  quite  frightened ; 
but  Rollo  said  he  did  not  care. 

"  Look  there !  "  said  Rollo,  pointing  back. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  Jennie. 

"  The  obelisk,"  said  Rollo. 

Jane  saw  the  tall,  needle-like  form  of  the  obe- 
lisk towering  into  the  air  from  the  middle  of 
the  great  square  behind  them,  and  a  part  of  the 
long  front  of  the  Tuileries,  at  the  end  of  a  vista 
of  trees,  far  beyond. 

"As  long  as  we  have  the  obelisk  in  sight," 
said  Rollo,  "  we  cannot  get  lost." 

Just  then  Rollo's  attention  was  called  to  a 
broad  sheet  of  paper  fastened  up  upon  a  tree 
that  he  was  passing  by.  He  stopped  to  see 
what  it  was.  A  little  girl,  about  as  old  as 
Jennie,  came  up  at  the  same  time,  leading  the 
maid  who  had  the  care  of  her  by  the  hand.  This 
child  began  to  read  what  was  printed  on  the 
card.  She  read  aloud,  enunciating  the  words 
very  slowly,  syllable  by  syllable,  and  in  a  voice 
bo  clear,  and  rich,  and  silvery,  that  it  was  delight- 
ful to  hear  her.  She  seemed  pleased  to  observe 
that  Rollo  and  Jane  were  listening  to  her ;  and 
when  she  got  through  she  turned  to  them,  as  if 
to  apologize  for  not  reading  better,  and  said,  in 
French,  and  with  a  pleasant  smile  upon  her 
countenance,  — 


The  Elysian  Fields.  lio 


She  does  not  understand  Rollo's  reply.  Toys  for  sola 

"  I  am  learning  to  read ;  but  I  cannot  read  too 
much  yet,  you  see." 

By  too  much  she  meant  very  well,  that  being 
the  way  that  the  French  express  themselves  in 
ench  a  case. 

Hollo  understood  what  she  said,  but  he  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  attempt  to  reply  in  the  same 
language ;  so  he  said  simply,  in  English,  — 

"And  yet  I  think  my  father  would  give  five 
hundred  dollars  if  I  could  read  French  like  that. 
He'd  be  glad  to  do  it." 

As  Hollo  spoke  these  words  the  child  looked 
earnestly  in  his  face,  the  smile  gradually  disap- 
pearing from  her  features  and  being  replaced  by 
a  look  of  perplexity  and  wonder.  She  then 
turned  and  led  the  maid  away. 

There  were  a  great  many  booths  and  stands 
about,  some  in  open  spaces  and  some  under  the 
trees.  At  one  they  had  all  sorts  of  cakes  for 
sale ;  at  another  toys  of  every  kind,  such  as  hoops 
balls,  kites,  balloons,  rocking  horses,  and  all  such 
things  ;  and  at  a  third  pictures,  some  large,  some 
small,  some  plain,  and  some  beautifully  colored. 
At  one  place,  by  the  side  of  the  avenue  where 
most  of  the  people  were  walking,  there  stood  a 
man,  with  a  tall  and  gayly-painted  can  on  his 
back.  It  was  covered  with  common  drapery 
below  ;  but  the  top  was  bright,  and  towered  like 


116  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  man  with  *  can  upon  his  back.  A  boy  buys  a  drink. 

a  spire  above  the  man's  head.  There  was  a 
round  bar,  like  the  leg  of  a  chair,  which  went 
from  the  bottom  of  the  can  to  the  ground,  to 
support  it,  and  take  the  weight  off  the  man's 
shoulders  when  he  was  standing  still.  The  man 
was  standing  still  now,  and  was  all  the  time 
tinkling  a  little  bell,  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
people  to  what  he  had  to  sell.  It  was  something 
to  drink.  There  were  two  kinds  of  drink  in  the 
can,  separated  from  each  other  by  a  division  in 
the  interior.  There  were  two  small  pipes,  one 
for  each  kind  of  drink,  leading  from  the  bottom 
of  the  can  round  by  the  side  of  the  man  to  the 
front,  with  stopcocks  at  the  end,  where  he  could 
draw  out  the  drink  conveniently.  There  was 
also  a  little  rack  to  hold  the  glasses.  There  were 
three  glasses  ;  for  the  man  sometimes  had  three 
customers  at  a  time.  While  Rollo  and  Jane  were 
looking  at  this  man,  a  boy  came  up  for  a  drink. 
The  man  took  one  of  the  glasses  from  the  little 
rack,  and  filled  it  by  turning  one  of  the  stop- 
cocks. When  the  boy  had  taken  his  drink  and 
paid  the  money,  the  man  wiped  the  glass  with  a 
towel  which  he  kept  for  the  purpose ;  and  then, 
putting  it  back  in  its  place  on  the  rack,  he  went 
on  tinkling  his  little  bell. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  crowd  of  people  seemed 
to  increase,  and  it  appeared  to  Rollo  and  Jennie, 


The  Elysian   Fields.  117 

How  to  find  the  way  to  church  in  a  strange  city. 

Wuen  they  came  to  observe  particularly,  that  they 
were  nearly  all  walking  one  way,  and  that  was 
up  the  avenue,  as  if  there  were  some  place  in  that 
direction  where  they  were  all  going.  Rollo  sup- 
posed that,  of  course,  it  was  a  church.  He  had 
been  told  by  his  father,  when  they  were  travelling 
in  England,  that  when  he  was  in  any  strange 
place  on  Sunday,  and  wished  to  find  the  way  to 
church,  one  good  method  was  to  observe  in  the 
streets  whenever  he  saw  any  considerable  number 
of  people  moving  in  the  same  direction,  and  to 
join  and  follow  them.  He  would,  in  such  cases, 
his  father  said,  be  very  sure  to  be  conducted  to  a 
church,  and  after  going  in  he  would  generally 
find  some  one  who  would  show  him  a  seat.  Rollo 
and  Jennie  had  often  practised  on  this  plan.  In 
fact,  they  took  a  particular  interest  and  pleasure 
in  going  to  church  in  this  way,  as  there  was  some- 
thing a  little  of  the  nature  of  adventure  in  it. 

When,  accordingly,  the  children  observed  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  that  filled  the  two 
side  avenues,  as  well  as  the  carriages  that  were 
in  the  central  one,  were  all  moving  steadily  on- 
ward together,  paying  little  attention  to  the 
booths,  and  stalls,  and  other  places  and  means  of 
amusement  which  were  to  be  seen  under  the  trees 
on  either  hand,  he  concluded  that,  while  some  of 
the  people  of  Paris  were  willing  to  amuse  them 


118  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Rollo  and  Jennie  conclude  to  go  to  church.  Adrienne  and  Antoino. 

selves  with  sports  and  exhibitions  on  Sunday,  the 
more  respectable  portion  would  not  stop  to  look 
at  them,  but  went  straight  forward  to  church  ; 
and  he  and  Jennie  resolved  to  follow  their 
example. 

"  I  should  like  to  see  all  these  things  very 
much,"  said  Rollo,  "  some  other  day  ;  but  now  we 
will  go  on,  Jennie,  to  the  church,  where  the  rest 
of  the  people  are  going." 

Jennie  very  cordially  approved  of  this  plan> 
and  so  they  walked  on  together.  It  happened 
that,  at  the  time  when  they  came  to  this  determi- 
nation, there  was  walking  just  before  them  a 
party,  consisting  apparently  of  a  father  and 
mother  and  their  two  children.  The  father  and 
mother  walked  together  first,  and  the  two  chil- 
dren, hand  in  hand,  followed.  The  oldest  child 
was  a  girl,  of  about  Jennie's  age.  The  other 
was  a  very  small  boy,  just  beginning  to  learn  to 
talk.  Rollo  and  Jennie  came  immediately  behind 
these  children,  and  were  very  much  interested 
in  hearing  them  talk  together,  especially  to  hear 
the  little  one  prattling  in  French.  He  called 
his  sister  Adrienne,  and  she  called  him  Antoine. 
Thus  Rollo  and  Jennie  knew  the  names  of  the 
children,  but  they  had  no  way  of  finding  out 
what  were  the  names  of  the  father  and  mother. 

"  Now,  Jennie,"  said  Rollo,  in  a  low  tone,  "  I 


The  Elysian  Fields.  113 

The  electrical  niachtne.  A  theatre  with  images  for  actois. 

think  we  had  better  follow  this  party,  and  keep 
close  to  them  all  the  time,  and  then,  when  we  get 
to  the  church,  perhaps  they  will  give  us  a  seat." 
Jennie  liked  this  proposal  very  much,  and  so 
she  and  Rollo  walked  along  after  Adrienne  and 
Antoine,  not  too  near  them,  but  so  near  as  to 
keep  them  always  in  sight.  Sometimes  the  party 
turned  aside  from  the  avenue  to  walk  under  the 
trees,  and  sometimes  they  stopped  a  few  minutes 
to  look  at  some  curious  exhibition  or  spectacle 
which  was  to  be  seen.  At  one  place  a  man  had 
a  square  marked  off,  and  enclosed  with  a  line  to 
keep  the  crowd  back  ;  and  in  the  middle  he 
had  an  electrical  machine,  with  which  he  gave 
shocks  to  any  of  the  bystanders  who  were  willing 
to  take  them.  A  boy  kept  turning  the  machine 
all  the  time.  At  another  place  was  a  little 
theatre,  mounted  on  a  high  box,  so  that  all  could 
see,  with  little  images  about  as  large  as  dolls 
dancing  on  the  stage,  or  holding  dialogues  with 
each  other.  The  words  were  really  spoken  by  a 
man  who  was  concealed  in  the  box  below ;  but 
as  the  little  images  moved  about  continually,  and 
made  all  sorts  of  gesticulations,  corresponding 
with  what  was  said,  it  seemed  to  the  bystanders 
precisely  as  if  they  were  speaking  themselves. 
Besides  this,  the  images  would  walk  about,  scold 


120  Eollo   ik  Paris. 

Whirling  machines.  Mimic  hunting.  Prizes. 

each  other,  quarrel  and  fight  each  other,  run  out 
at  little  doors,  and  then  come  in  again,  and  do  a 
great  many  other  things  which  it  was  very  won- 
derful to  see  such  little  figures  do. 

There  were  places,  too,  where  there  were  great 
whirling  machines,  under  splendid  tents  and 
canopies,  with  horses,  and  boats,  and  ships,  and 
cradles  at  the  circumference  of  them,  all  of 
which  were  made  to  sail  round  and  round 
through  the  air,  carrying  the  children  that  were 
mounted  on  the  horses  or  sitting  in  the  ships 
and  boats.  There  were  also  several  places  for 
shooting  at  a  mark  with  little  spring  guns, 
which  were  loaded  with  peas  instead  of  bullets. 
There  were  figures  of  bears,  lions,  tigers,  ducks, 
deer,  and  other  animals  at  a  little  distance, 
which  were  kept  moving  along  all  the  time  by 
machinery,  for  the  children  to  shoot  at  with  the 
peas.  If  they  hit  any  of  them  they  drew  a 
prize,  consisting  of  cake  or  gingerbread,  or  of 
some  sort  of  plaything  or  toy,  of  which  great 
numbers  were  hanging  up  about  the  shooting 
place.  All  these,  and  a  great  many  other  similar 
contrivances  for  amusing  people,  Rollo  and  Jane 
saw,  as  they  passed  along  ;  but  they  did  not  stop 
to  look  at  them,  excepting  when  the  gentleman 
and   lady  stopped  whom  they  were   following. 


The   Elysian    Fields 


121 


Hollo  and  Jennie  reach  the  Triumphal  Arch. 


This  was  seldom,  however  ;  and  so  they  went,  on 
the  whole,  very  steadily  forward,  up  the  long  and 
gentle  ascent,  until,  at  length,  they  reached  the 
great  Triumphal  Arch  at  the  Neuilly  Barrier. 


122  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Man  on  the  top  of  the  Triumphal  Arch.  R/iilo's  mistake. 


C  H  APTER     VI. 

A  great  Mistake. 

As  they  approached  the  arch,  the  children 
gazed  upon  it  with  astonishment,  being  greatly 
impressed  with  its  magnitude  and  height.  There 
were  a  great  many  men  on  the  top  of  it.  Their 
heads  and  shoulders  were  visible  from  below,  as 
they  stood  leaning  over  the  parapet.  They, 
however,  looked  exceedingly  small. 

Rollo  and  Jennie  would  have  liked  to  stop 
and  look  longer  at  the  arch ;  but  they  did  not 
wish  to  separate  from  Adrienne  and  Antoine, 
who  kept  walking  steadily  on  all  the  time  with 
their  father  and  mother.  Rollo  supposed,  as  has 
been  said  before,  that  this  party  were  going  to 
some  church ;  but  they  were  not.  They  were 
going  to  a  place  called  the  Hippodrome. 

The  Hippodrome,  far  from  being  a  church,  is  a 
place  of  amusement.  It  is  used  for  equestrian 
performances,  and  feats  of  strength  and  agility 
and  balloon  ascension,  and  all  similar  entertain 
ments. 


A  great   Mistake.  123 

The  Hippodrome.  The  root  The  concealed  canal  in  the  area. 

The  Hippodrome  is  a  long,  oval  enclosure,  with 
eight  or  ten  ranges  of  seats  extending  all  around 
it,  and  rising  one  above  another,  like  the  seats 
of  the  Coliseum  at  Rome.  There  is  a  roof  ex- 
tending all  around  over  the  seats  ;  but  the  area 
within  is  so  large  that  it  could  not  well  be 
covered  with  a  roof.  Besides,  if  there  were  a 
roof  over  it,  how  could  the  balloons  go  up  ? 

Then,  moreover,  the  spectacles  which  are  ex- 
hibited in  the  Hippodrome  appear  to  much  better 
advantage  when  seen  in  the  open  light  of  day 
than  if  they  were  under  the  cover  of  a  roof,  so 
long  as  the  spectators  themselves  are  protected 
from  the  sun  and  from  any  sudden  showers. 

The  area  in  the  middle  of  the  Hippodrome  is 
about  one  hundred  yards  long  and  fifty  yards 
wide.  It  is  so  large  that  there  is  room  for  a 
good  wide  road  all  around  it,  and  also  for 
another  road  up  and  down  the  middle,  with  little 
gardens  of  grass  and  flowers  between.  At  the 
very  centre  is  a  round  area,  where  there  is  a 
concealed  canal  of  water  to  represent  a  stream. 
This  water  is  ordinarily  covered  with  planks,  and 
the  planks  are  covered  with  a  very  thick  canvas 
carpet,  and  this  with  sand  ;  so  that  the  water  is 
entirely  concealed,  and  the  horsemen  ride  over 
it  just  as  they  do  over  any  other  part  of  the 
area.     When  they  wish  to  use  it,  to  show  hew 


124  ROLLO     IN     t'ARIS. 

The  performances  at  the  Hippodrome.  Monkeys  and  ponies. 

the  horses  could  leap  over  streams,  the}T  take  off 
the  sand,  roll  up  the  carpet,  and  carry  away  the 
planks  ;  and  there  they  have  a  very  good  repre- 
sentation of  a  stream. 

The  performances  at  the  Hippodrome  are  very 
various.  Sometimes  whole  troops  of  horse  come 
in  from  between  two  great  curtains  at  one  end, 
all  elegantly  caparisoned  and  mounted,  some  by 
-men  and  some  by  girls,  but  all,  whether  men  or 
girls,  dressed  in  splendid  uniforms.  These  troops 
ride  round  and  round  the  area,  and  up  and  down 
in  the  middle  of  it,  performing  a  great  variety 
of  evolutions  in  the  most  rapid  and  surprising 
manner. 

Then  there  are  races  of  various  kinds.  Some 
are  run  by  beautiful  girls,  who  come  out  mounted 
on  elegant  gray  horses  that  are  mottled  like 
leopards,  each  of  the  riders  having  a  scarf  over 
her  shoulders  of  a  different  color  from  the  rest, 
so  that  they  may  be  all  readily  distinguished 
from  each  other  in  the  race.  Then  there  arc 
races  of  chariots,  three  running  at  a  time,  rouud 
and  round  the  area  ;  and  of  small  ponies,  with 
monkeys  on  them  for  riders.  There  are  various 
contrivances,  too,  for  athletic  and  gymnastic  feats, 
such  as  masts  and  poles  for  climbers  to  ascend, 
and  other  similar  apparatus.  All  these  things 
give  the  interior  of  the  Hippodrome  quite  a  gay 


A  great  Mistake.  125 

The  portal  of  the  Hippodrome.  Buying  tickets. 

and  lively  appearance,  and  the  area  necessary 
for  them  is  so  large  that  the  ranges  of  seats  sur 
rounding  it  are  sufficient  to  accommodate  ten 
thousand  spectators. 

It  was  to  this  place  that  Adrienne  and  Antoine, 
with  their  father  and  mother,  were  going,  while 
Rollo  and  Jennie  supposed  that  they  were  going 
to  a  church.  There  was  nothing  to  lead  Rollo 
to  suspect  his  mistake  in  the  aspect  of  the  build- 
ing as  he  approached  the  entrance  to  it ;  for  tht 
sides  of  it  were  hidden  by  trees  and  other  build- 
ings, and  the  portal,  though  very  large  and  very 
gayly  decorated,  seemed  still,  so  far  as  Rollo 
could  get  a  glimpse  of  it  through  the  crowds  of 
people,  only  to  denote  that  it  was  the  entrance 
to  some  very  splendid  public  edifice,  without  at 
all  indicating  the  nature  of  the  purposes  to  which 
it  was  devoted. 

The  immense  concourse  of  people  which  were 
pouring  into  the  Hippodrome  divided  themselves 
at  the  gates  into  two  portions,  and  passed  up  an  as- 
cent to  enter  at  side  doors.  Rollo  and  Jane,  fol- 
lowing their  guides,  went  toward  the  right.  They 
observed  that  the  father  of  Adrienne  and  Antoine 
stopped  at  a  little  window  near  the  entrance,  to 
pay  the  price  of  admission  for  himself  and  wife 
and  his  two  children  and  to  get  the  tickets.  He 
paid  full  price  for  his  two  children,  and  so  took 


126  Rollo   in   Par   s. 

The  doorkeeper  admits  Rollo  and  Jennie  with  Adriemie  and  Antoine. 

four  full  tickets.  Rollo  and  Jane  did  not  see 
him  pay  the  money.  They  only  observed  that 
there  was  a  crowd  at  the  Mttle  window,  and  they 
saw  Antoine's  father  take  the  tickets.  They  did 
not  know  what  this  meant,  however ;  but  they 
followed  on.  When  they  all  came  to  the  door- 
way which  led  up  to  the  ranges  of  seats,  the  man 
whose  duty  it  was  to  take  the  tickets  supposed 
that  the  four  children  all  belonged  to  the  same 
family,  and  that  they  had  been  admitted  at  half 
price,  and  that,  accordingly,  two  of  the  tickets 
were  for  the  father  and  mother,  and  the  other  two 
for  the  four  children.  So  he  let  them  all  pass 
on  together,  especially  as  there  was,  at  that  time, 
such  a  throng  of  people  crowding  in  that 
there  was  no  time  to  stop  and  make  any  in- 
quiries. 

Rollo  and  Jane  were  carried  along  by  the 
current  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  which  came  out 
among  the  ranges  of  seats  ;  and  after  moving 
along  for  some  distance  till  they  came  to  a 
vacancy  they  sat  down,  and  began  to  look 
around  and  survey  the  spacious  and  splendid 
interior  into  which  they  had  entered.  They 
were  at  once  overwhelmed  with  the  magnificence 
of  the  spectacle  which  was  presented  to  view. 
Instead  of  a  church,  they  found  a  vast  open  area 
extended  before   them,  surrounded  with    long 


A  great  Mistake.  127 


"  Camp  meeting  !  "  The  balcony  for  the  emperor. 

ranges  of  seats,  and  laid  out  in  the  interior  in 
the  most  graceful  and  beautiful  manner. 

"Jennie,"  said  Eollo,  after  gazing  about  for 
some  moments,  almost  bewildered,  "  if  this  is  any 
kind  of  meeting  at  all,  I  think  it  must  be  a 
camp  meeting." 

Jennie  was  completely  bewildered,  and  had  no 
opinion  on  the  subject  whatever  ;  so  she  said 
nothing. 

"  That's  the  place  for  the  choir,  I  suppose," 
said  Rollo,  pointing  to  a  sort  of  raised  platform 
with  a  balustrade  in  front,  which  was  built 
among  the  seats  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  sides 
of  the  Hippodrome.  "  But  then,"  he  added,  after 
a  moment's  pause,  "I  don't  see  any  pulpit,  unless 
that  is  it." 

As  he  said  this,  Rollo  pointed  to  a  balcony 
with  a  rich  canopy  over  it,  which  was  built  up 
among  the  seats,  directly  opposite  to  the  mu 
sician's  gallery,  on  the  other  side  of  the  arena. 
This  balcony  was  for  the  use  of  the  emperor, 
and  his  family  and  friends,  when  they  chose  to 
come  and  witness  the  spectacles  in  the  Hippo- 
drome. 

These  speculations  of  Rollo's  were  suddenly 
interrupted  by  the  striking  up  of  martial  music, 
by  a  full  band  of  trumpets,  drums,  clarinet1?, 
hautboys,  and  horns,  from  the  musician's  gallery. 


128  Rollo  in   Paris. 

Rollc  anil  Jennie  discover  tlieir  mi.stake  Doing  right 

Soon  afterwards  the  curtains  opened  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  arena,  and  a  magnificent  troop 
of  horse,  mounted  by  male  and  female  riders,  all 
dressed  in  the  gayest  and  most  splendid  costumes, 
came  prancing  in.  As  soon  as  Rollo  had  re- 
covered from  his  astonishment  at  this  spectacle, 
he  turned  to  Jennie,  and  said, — 

"  Jennie,  it  is  not  any  church  or  meeting  at  aU  , 
and  I  think  we  had  better  go  home." 

"  I  think  so  too,"  said  Jennie. 

"I  should  like  to  come  here  some  other  lay/' 
added  Rollo  ;  "  and  I  mean  to  ask  my  father  tJ 
let  us  come.  Uncle  George  will  come  with  us. 
But  now  we  had  better  go  home." 

So  the  children  rose  from  their  seats  and  began 
to  move  toward  the  door.  It  was  some  time 
before  they  could  get  out,  so  great  was  the  num- 
ber of  people  still  coming  in.  They,  however, 
finally  succeeded,  and  were  quite  relieved  when 
they  found  themselves  once  more  in  the  open  air. 

They  turned  their  steps  immediately  toward 
home.  Jane,  however,  soon  began  to  feel  very 
tired  ;  and  so  Rollo  said  he  would  stop  the  first 
omnibus  that  came  along.  The  avenue  was  full 
of  carriages  of  every  kind  ;  and  pretty  soon  an 
omnibus,  headed  down  the  obelisk,  appeared 
among  them.  Rollo  made  a  signal  for  the  con- 
ductor to  stop,  and  he  and  Jennie  got  iD. 


A  great   Mistake.  129 


Returning  uome.  Rollo's  account  of  tlio  walk. 

They  had  a  very  pleasant  ride  back  through 
the  Elysian  Fields,  and  around  the  great  square 
where  the  obelisk  stands.  They  then  entcrel 
the  street  which  runs  along  by  the  side  of  the 
gardens  of  the  Tuileries,  and  advanced  in  it 
toward  the  heart  of  the  city.  Rollo  made  a 
sign  for  the  conductor  to  stop  when  the  omnibus 
reached  that  part  of  the  street  which  was  op- 
posite to  the  entrance  into  the  garden  where  he 
and  Jennie  had  gone  in.  This  was,  of  course, 
also  opposite  to  the  street  leading  into  the  Place 
Vcndomc.  It  was  but  a  short  walk  from  this 
place  to  the  hotel.  About  six  o'clock  the  chil- 
dren arrived  at  the  hotel,  and  the  table  was 
already  set  for  dinner.  Mr.  Holiday  was  reclin- 
ing on  a  couch  in  the  room,  and  Mrs.  Holiday 
had  been  reading  to  him.  Rollo's  uncle  George 
was  also  in  the  room.  Mrs.  Holiday  laid  down 
her  book  when  the  children  came  in.  Rollo  and 
Jennie  sat  down  upon  a  sofa,  not  far  from  their 
father's  couch.     They  were  glad  to  rest. 

"  Well,  children,"  said  Mrs.  Holiday, "  have  you 
had  a  pleasant  walk  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "a  very  pleasant  walk  in- 
deed. We  have  seen  a  great  many  very  curious 
things.     But  I  believe  we  made  a  mistake." 

"What  mistake?  "  asked  Mrs.  Holiday. 

"  Why,  we  followed  a  great  many  people  that 


130  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  story  excites  great  amusement 

we  thought  were  going  to  church  ;  but,  instead  ci 
that,  they  led  us  into  a  great  place  that  I  think 
was  some  sort  of  circus." 

Here  Mr.  George  looked  up  very  eagerly  and 
began  to  laugh. 

"  I  declare  !  "  said  he.  "  I  shouldn't  wonder  if 
you  got  into  the  Hippodrome." 

"  I  don't  know  what  it  was,"  said  Rollo. 
"  When  we  first  went  in  we  saw  that  it  was  not  a 
church ;  but  we  did  not  know  but  that  it  might 
be  some  sort  of  camp  meeting.  But  pretty 
soon  they  began  to  bring  horses  in  and  ride  them 
around,  and  so  we  came  out." 

Here  Mr.  George  fell  into  a  loug  and  uncon- 
trollable paroxysm  of  laughter,  during  the  inter- 
nals of  which  he  said,  in  broken  language,  as  he 
walked  about  the  room  endeavoring  to  get 
breath  and  recover  his  self-control,  that  it  was 
the  best  thing  he  had  heard  since  he  landed  at 
Liverpool.  The  idea  of  following  the  crowd  of 
Parisians  in  the  Champs  Elysees  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  with  the  expectation  of  being  con- 
ducted to  church,  and  then  finally  taking  the 
Hippodrome  for  a  camp  meeting !  Rollo  him- 
self, though  somewhat  piqued  at  having  his  ad 
venture  put  in  so  ridiculous  a  light,  could  not 
help  laughing  too  ;  and  even  his  father  and  mother 
emiled. 


A  great  Mistake.  131 

Difference  between  the  Sabbath  in  Paris  and  in  America. 

"  Never  mind,  Rollo,"  said  his  mother,  at 
length.  "I  don't  think  you  were  at  all  to 
blame  ;  though  I  am  glad  that  you  came  out 
when  you  found  what  sort  of  a  place  it  was." 

"  0,  no,"  said  Mr.  George,  as  he  gradually 
recovered  his  self-control,  "  you  were  not  to  blame 
in  the  least.  The  rule  you  followed  is  a  very 
good  one  for  England  and  America  ;  but  it  does 
not  apply  to  France.  Going  with  the  multitude 
Sunday  afternoons,  in  Paris,  will  take  you  any 
where  but  to  church." 

Notwithstanding  the  concurrence  of  opinion 
between  Hollo's  mother  and  his  uncle  that  he 
had  done  nothing  wrong,  neither  he  nor  Jennie 
could  help  feeling  some  degree  of  uneasiness 
and  some  little  dissatisfaction  with  themselves  in 
respect  to  the  manner  in  which  they  had  spent 
the  afternoon.  They  had  both  been  accustomed 
to  consider  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  solemnly  con- 
secrated to  the  worship  of  God  and  to  the  work 
of  preparation  for  heaven.  It  is  true  that  the 
day  sometimes  seemed  very  long  to  them,  as  it 
does  to  all  children  ;  and  though  they  had 
always  been  allowed  to  take  quiet  walks  in  the 
gardens  and  grounds  around  the  house,  still  they 
usually  got  tired,  before  night  came,  of  being  so 
quiet  and  still.  Notwithstanding  this,  however, 
they  had  no  disposition  to  break  over  the  rule 


182  Rollo  in   Paris, 


Keeping  the  Sabbath.  Itollo's  acquiescence. 

which,  as  they  supposed,  the  law  of  God  enjoined 
upon  them.  They  fully  believed  that  God  him- 
self had  ordained  that  there  should  be  one  day 
in  seven  from  which  all  the  usual  occupations 
and  amusements  of  life  should  be  excluded,  and 
which  should  be  consecrated  wholly  to  rest,  to 
religious  contemplation,  and  to  prayer  ;  and  they 
were  very  willing  to  submit  to  the  ordinance, 
though  it  brought  with  it  upon  them,  as  children, 
burdens  and  restrictions  which  it  was  sometimes 
quite  onerous  for  them  to  bear. 

When  night  came,  Rollo  found  that  he  always 
felt  much  happier  if  he  had  kept  the  Sabbath 
strictly,  than  when  he  attempted,  either  secretly 
or  openly,  to  evade  the  duty.  There  was  a  sort 
of  freshness  and  vigor,  too,  with  which  he  en- 
gaged in  the  employments  of  the  week  on 
Monday  morning,  which,  though  he  had  never 
stopped  to  account  for  it  philosophically,  he  en- 
joyed very  highly,  and  which  made  Monday 
morning  the  brightest  and  most  animated  morn- 
ing of  the  week.  So  Rollo  was  accustomed 
to  acquiesce  very  willingly  in  the  setting  apart 
of  the  sacred  day  to  religious  observances  and 
to  rest,  thinking  that  the  restraints  and  restric- 
tions which  it  imposed  were  amply  compensated 
for  by  the  peace  and  comfort  which  it  brought 
to  his  mind  when  he  observed  it  aright,  and  by 


A  great   Mistake.  133 

Rollo's  plan  for  observing  the  remainder  of  the  day. 

the  novelty  and  freshness  of  the  charm  with 
which  it  invested  the  ordinary  pursuits  and  en- 
joyments of  life  when  it  was  over. 

Accordingly,  on  this  occasion,  feeling  a  little 
dissatisfied  with  himself  and  uneasy  in  mind,  in 
consequence  of  the  manner  in  which  he  had 
spent  the  afternoon,  Rollo  determined  to  make 
all  the  atonement  for  his  fault,  if  fault  it  was, 
that  was  now  in  his  power.  Accordingly,  when 
the  family  rose  from  the  table  after  dinner,  which 
was  about  seven  o'clock,  and  his  father  and 
mother  went  and  sat  upon  the  sofa  together, 
which  stood  in  the  recess  of  a  window  looking 
out  upon  the  Place  Vendome,  Rollo  said  to  Jane, 
in  an  undertone,  — 

"  Jennie,  come  with  me." 

He  said  this  in  the  tone  of  an  invitation,  not  of 
command  ;  and  Jennie  understood  at  once,  from 
her  experience  on  former  occasions,  that  Rollo 
had  some  plan  for  her  entertainment  or  gratifi- 
cation. So  she  got  down  from  her  chair  and 
went  off  with  him  very  readily. 

They  went  out  at  a  door  which  led  into  their 
mother's  bed  room. 

"  Jennie,"  said  Rollo,  as  he  walked  along  with 
her  across  the  room,  "  I  am  going  to  get  the 
Bible  and  sit  down  here  by  the  window  and  read 
in  it.     Would  not  you  like  to  read  with  me  ?  " 


134  Rollo  in  Paris. 

A  full  description  of  Jennie's  room  in  Parts. 

"  Yes,"  said  Jennie,  "  if  you  will  find  a  pretty 
story  to  read  about.  There  are  a  great  many 
toward  the  first  part  of  the  Bible." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  will." 

"  And  let  us  go  into  my  room  to  read,"  said 
Jennie.     "  I  like  my  room  the  best." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  like  your  room  best, 
too." 

So  Rollo  took  the  Bible  off  from  the  table  of 
his  father's  room,  and  then  he  and  Jennie  went 
on  together  into  Jennie's  room.  This  room  was 
a  little  boudoir,  which  opened  from  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Holiday's  room  ;  it  was  a  charming  little 
place,  and  it  was  no  wonder  that  Jennie  liked 
it.  It  was  hung  with  drapery  all  around,  except 
where  the  window  was,  on  one  side,  and  a  large 
looking  glass  and  a  picture  on  two  other  sides. 
There  was  even  a  curtain  over  the  door,  so  that 
when  you  were  in,  and  the  door  was  shut,  and 
the  curtain  over  it  was  let  down,  you  seemed  to 
be  entirely  secluded  from  all  the  world.  This 
drapery  was  green,  and  the  room,  being  entire- 
ly enclosed  in  it,  might  have  seemed  sombre  had 
it  not  been  for  the  brilliancy  and  beauty  of  the 
furniture,  and  the  variegated  colors  and  high 
polish  of  the  floor.  There  was  an  elegant  bed- 
stead and  bed  in  the  back  part  of  the  room, 
with   a  carved  canopy  over   it.     There   was  a 


A  great   Mistake.  135 


Jennie's  seat  under  the  lilacs,  by  tile  brook,  at  home. 

bureau  also,  with  drawers,  where  Jennie  kept 
her  clothes  ;  and  a  little  fireplace,  with  a  pretty 
brass  fender  before  it ;  and  a  marble  mantel 
piece  above,  with  a  clock  and  two  vases  of 
flowers  upon  it.  There  were  a  great  many 
other  curious  and  beautiful  articles  of  furniture 
in  the  room,  which  gave  it  a  very  attractive 
appearance,  and  made  it,  in  fact,  as  pretty  a 
place  of  seclusion  as  a  lady  could  desire  to  have. 
Jennie  enjoyed  this  room  very  much  indeed  ;  but 
still,  after  all,  notwithstanding  the  expensiveness 
and  beauty  of  the  decorations  which  adorned  it, 
I  do  not  know  that  Jennie  enjoyed  it  any  more 
than  she  did  a  little  seat  that  she  had  under  some 
lilac  bushes,  near  the  brook  at  the  bottom  of  her 
father's  garden,  at  home. 

There  was  a  small  couch  in  the  recess  of  the 
window  in  Jennie's  boudoir ;  and  here  she  and 
Rollo  established  themselves,  with  the  Bible  ly- 
ing open  before  them  upon  a  small  table  which 
they  had  placed  before  the  couch  to  hold  it. 
They  raised  their  own  seats  by  means  of  large, 
square  cushions  which  were  there,  so  as  to  bring 
themselves  to  the  right  height  for  reading  from 
the  book  while  it  lay  upon  the  table  ;  and  they 
put  their  feet  upon  a  tabouret  which  belonged  to 
the  room.  The  tabouret  was  made  for  a  seat, 
but  it  answered  an  admirable  purpose  for  a  foot- 


136  Rollo   in  Paris. 

How  Rollo  selected  a  chapter  in  the  Bible.  Jennie's  reading. 

stool.  As  soon  as  the  two  children  were  thus 
comfortably  established,  they  opened  the  Bible, 
and  Rollo  began  to  turn  over  the  leaves  in  the 
books  of  Samuel  and  of  Kings,  in  order  to  find 
something  which  he  thought  would  interest  Jen- 
nie. 

At  length  he  found  a  chapter  which  seemed, 
so  far  as  he  could  judge  by  running  his  eye  along 
the  verses,  to  consist  principally  of  narration 
and  dialogue  ;  and  so  he  determined  to  begin  the 
reading  at  once. 

"  Now,"  said  he, "  Jennie,  I  will  read  one  verse, 
and  then  you  shall  read  one,  and  I  will  tell  you 
the  meaning  of  all  the  words  that  you  don't 
know." 

Jennie  was  much  pleased  with  this  arrange- 
ment, and  she  read  the  verses  which  came  to  her 
with  great  propriety.  It  is  true  that  there  were 
a  great  many  words  at  which  she  was  obliged  to 
hesitate  some  little  time  before  she  could  pro- 
nounce them  ;  and  there  were  others  which  she 
could  not  pronounce  at  all.  Rollo  had  the  tact 
to  wait  just  long  enough  in  these  cases.  By 
telling  children  too  quick,  when  they  are  endeav- 
oring to  spell  out  a  word,  we  deprive  them  of 
the  pleasure  of  surmounting  the  difficulty  them- 
selves ;  and,  by  waiting  too  long,  we  perplex  and 
discourage  them.    There  are  very  few  children 


A  great  Mistake.  137 

How  to  teach  children  to  read. 

who,  when  they  are  hearing  their  younger  broth- 
ers and  sisters  read,  have  the  proper  discretion 
on  this  point.  In  fact,  a  great  many  full-grown 
teachers  fail  in  this  respect  most  seriously,  and 
make  the  business  of  reading  on  the  part  of  their 
pupils  a  constant  source  of  disappointment  and 
vexation  to  them,  when  it  might  have  been  a 
pleasure. 

Rollo,  too,  besides  the  patient  and  kind  en- 
couragement which  he  afforded  to  Jane  in  her 
attempts  to  read  her  verses  herself,  read  those 
which  fell  to  his  share  in  a  very  distinct  and 
deliberate  manner,  keeping  the  place  all  the 
while  with  his  finger,  so  that  Jennie  might  easily 
follow  him.  He  stopped  also  from  time  to  time 
to  explain  the  story  to  Jennie,  and  to  talk  about 
the  several  incidents  that  were  described  in  it, 
in  order  to  make  it  sure  that  Jennie  understood 
them  all.  It  would  have  been  much  easier  for 
him  to  have  taken  the  book  himself,  and  to  have 
read  the  whole  chapter  off  at  once,  fluently. 
But  this  would  have  defeated  his  whole  object ; 
which  was,  not  to  do  what  he  could  do  most 
easily,  but  to  do  good  and  help  Jennie.  If  a 
boy  were  going  up  a  high  hill,  with  his  sister 
in  his  company  it  would  be  easier  for  him  to  go 
directly  on  and  leave  his  sister  behind.      A  self 


138  Rollo   in  Parts. 

The  satisfaction  and  happiness  secured  by  doing  right. 

ish  boy  would  be  likely  to  do  this  ;  but  a  gen- 
erous-minded boy  would  prefer  to  go  slowly,  and 
help  his  sister  along  over  the  rocks  and  up  the 
steep  places. 

Rollo  and  Jane  both  became  so  much  inter- 
ested in  their  reading  that  they  continued  it 
almost  an  hour.  It  then  began  to  be  dark,  and 
so  they  put  the  book  away.  Their  mother  came 
in  about  that  time,  and  was  very  much  pleased 
when  she  found  how  Rollo  and  Jennie  had  been 
employed  ;  and  Rollo  and  Jennie  themselves  ex- 
perienced a  substantial  and  deeply-seated  feeling 
of  satisfaction  and  comfort  that  all  the  merry- 
making of  the  Elysian  Fields  could  never  give. 
If  any  of  the  readers  of  this  book  have  any  doubt 
of  this,  let  them  try  the  experiment  themselves. 
At  some  time,  after  they  have  been  spending  a 
portion  of  the  Sabbath  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 
them  an  inward  feeling  of  uneasiness  and  self- 
condemnation,  let  them  engage  for  a  time  in  the 
voluntary  performance  of  some  serious  duty,  as 
Rollo  did,  and  in  the  spirit  and  temper  which 
he  manifested,  and  see  how  strongly  it  will  tend 
to  bring  back  their  peace  of  mind  and  restore 
them  to  happiness.  To  try  the  experiment  more 
effectually  still,  spend  the  whole  Sabbath  in  this 
manner,  and  then  see  with  what  a  feeling  of 


A  great  Mistake.  139 

Bollo  and  Jennie  visit  the  Hippodrome  on  a  weekday. 

quiet  and  peaceful  satisfaction  you  will  go  to 
bed  at  night,  and  with  what  a  joyous  and  buoy- 
ant spirit  you  will  awake  on  Monday  morning. 

Before  Rollo  left  Paris,  he  went,  one  Tuesday 
afternoon,  with  his  mother  and  Jennie  and  his  un- 
cle George,  to  see  the  performances  at  the  Hippo- 
drome, and  he  enjoyed  the  spectacle  very  much 
indeed.  Besid-es  the  performances  which  have 
already  been  described,  there  were  two  others 
which  astonished  him  exceedingly.  In  one  of 
these  a  man  came  into  the  middle  of  the  area,  and 
there  the  assistants  lifted  up  a  large  and  heavy 
pole,  which  they  poised  in  the  air,  and  then  set 
the  lower  end  of  it  in  a  sort  of  socket  which  was 
made  in  an  apron  which  the  man  wore,  which 
socket  was  fastened  securely  to  the  man's  hips  and 
shoulders  by  strong  straps,  so  that  he  could  sus- 
tain the  weight  of  the  pole  by  means  of  them. 
The  pole  was  about  thirty  feet  high,  and  the  top 
was  branched  like  a  pitchfork.  It  was  shaped,  in 
fact,  exactly  like  a  pitchfork,  except  that  there 
was  a  bar  across  from  the  top  of  one  branch  to 
the  top  of  the  other,  and  a  rope  hanging  down 
from  the  middle  of  the  bar  half  way  down  to  the 
place  of  bifurcation  —  that  is,  to  the  place  where 
the  straight  part  of  the  pole  ended  and  the 
branches  began.     Things  being  thus  arranged, 


140 


Rollo   in   Paris 


The  feats  performed  by  the  boy  balanced  in  the  air. 

a  boy,  who  was  about  twelve  years  old,  appar- 
ently, came  out,  and,  leaping  up  upon  the  man's 
shoulders,  began  to  climb  up  the  pole.  When 
he  reached  the  top*  of  it  he  took  hold  of  the 
rope,  and  by  means  of  the  rope  climbed  up  tc 


w^y^-Vr  -4  ¥<■  pup* 


THK   HIPPODROME. 


the  bar.  Here  he  began  to  perform  a  great  va- 
riety of  the  most  astonishing  evolutions,  the  man 
all  the  time  poising  the  pole  in  the  air.  The  boy 
would  climb  about  the  bar  in  every  way,  draw- 
ing himself  up  sometimes  backwards  and  some- 
times forward,  and  swinging  to   and    fro,  and 


A  great  Mistake.  141 

A  strange  way  of  climbing  a  mast, 

turning  over  and  over  in  every  conceivable  po- 
sition. He  would  hang-to  the  bar  sometimes 
by  his  hands  and  sometimes  by  his  legs  —  some- 
times with  his  head  downward,  sometimes  with 
his  feet  downward.  He  would  whirl  round  and 
round  over  the  bar  a  great  many  times,  till  Rol- 
lo  and  Jane  were  tired  of  seeing  him,  and  then 
lie  would  rest  by  hanging  to  the  pole  by  the  back 
of  Ms  head,  without  touching  the  bar  with  any 
other  part  of  his  body.  All  this  time  the  man 
who  held  the  pole  kept  it  carefully  poised,  mov- 
ing to  and  fro  about  the  area  continually  in  fol- 
lowing the  oscillations. 

The  other  performance  was  in  some  respects 
more  extraordinary  still.  There  was  a  mast  set 
up  in  the  ground,  thirty  or  forty  feet  high.  At 
the  ground,  ten  feet  from  the  foot  of  the  mast, 
there  commenced  an  inclined  plane,  formed  of  a 
plank  about  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches  wide,  which 
ascended  in  a  spiral  direction  round  and  round 
the  mast  till  it  reached  the  top.  A  man  ascended 
this  plane  by  means  of  a  large  ball,  about  two 
feet  in  diameter,  which  he  rolled  up  standing 
upon  it,  and  rolling  it  by  stepping  continually 
on  the  ascending  side.  There  was  no  ledge  or 
guard  whatever  to  keep  the  ball  from  rolling  off 
the  plane  —  nothing  but  a  narrow  plank  ascend- 
ing continually,  and  winding  in  a  spiral  manner 


142 


Rollo   in   Paris. 


The  end  of  the  performances  at  the  Hippodrome. 

around  the  mast.  This  experiment  it  was  quite 
frightful  to  see.  Several  of  the  children  who 
were  sitting  near  Mr.  George's  party  began  to 
cry,  saying,  "  0,  he  will  fall  — he  will  fall !  "  In 
fact,  Jennie  could  not  bear  to  look  at  him,  and 
so  she  shut  her  eyes  ;  and  even  Mrs.  Holiday 
looked  another  way.  But  Rollo  watched  it 
through,  and  saw  the  man  go  on  up  to  the  very 
top  of  the  mast,  and  stand  there  on  his  ball  on 
the  top,  forty  feet  above  the  ground,  with  his 
hands  extended  in  triumph.  After  remaining 
there  a  short  time,  he  came  down  as  he  had  gone 
up ;  and  when  he  reached  the  ground,  he  rolled 
his  ball  along,  keeping  on  it  all  the  time,  till  he 
came  to  a  chariot  which  was  waiting  to  receive 
him.  He  stepped  from  the  ball  off  to  the  char- 
iot, and  was  then  driven  all  around  the  ring, 
being  received  every  where,  as  he  passed,  with 
the  acclamations  of  the  spectators. 


Carlos,  143 

The  forty  drummers.  Mr.  George  removes  to  another  hotel 


Chapter    VII. 
Carlos. 

One  morning,  just  after  breakfast,  when  Rollo 
and  Jennie  were  sitting  at  the  window  of  their 
hotel,  looking  at  a  band  of  about  forty  drum- 
mers that  were  arranging  themselves  on  the 
Asphaltum,  in  the  Place  Vendome,  in  front  of  the 
column,  preparatory  to  an  exercise  of  practice 
on  their  instrument,  Mr.  George  came  into  the 
room.  Mr.  George  took  up  a  newspaper  which 
was  lying  upon  the  table,  and,  seating  himself  in 
a  large  arm  chair  which  was  near,  he  read  from 
it  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then,  laying  down  the 
paper,  said, — 

"  Rollo,  how  do  you  pronounce  L-o-u-v-o-i-s  ?  " 

Mr.  George  did  not  speak  the  word,  but 
spelled  it  letter  by  letter. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Because,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  is  the  name 
of  the  hotel  where  I  have  gone." 

"  What  made  you  go  away  from  this  hotel, 
uncle  George?"  asked  Jennie.  "Didn't  you 
like  it?" 


144  Rollo   in    Paris. 

Mr.  George  proposes  that  Rollo  and  Jennie  visit  the  Garden  of  Plants. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "  I  liked  it  very 
much.  But  I  wanted  to  change  the  scene.  1 
had  become  very  familiar  with  every  thing  in 
this  part  of  the  city,  and  with  the  modes  of  life 
in  this  hotel.  So  I  thought  I  would  change,  and 
go  to  some  other  quarter  of  the  city,  where  I 
could  see  Paris,  and  Paris  life,  in  new  aspects." 

"  I  wish  I  had  gone  with  you,"  said  Rollo.  "I 
wonder  if  my  father  would  not  let  me  go  now. 
Is  there  a  room  for  me  at  your  hotel  ?  "  he  added, 
looking  up  eagerly. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  You  can 
ask  when  you  go  there.  But  to  day  I  am  going 
to  see  the  Garden  of  Plants  ;  and  you  may  go 
with  me,  if  you  like." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  should  like  to  go  very 
much." 

"  And  may  I  go,  too  ?  "  said  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  if  your  mother  is 
willing." 

"  Well,"  said  Jennie,  joyfully,  "  I'll  go  and 
ask  her.  Only  I  wish  it  was  a  garden  of  flowera 
instead  of  a  garden  of  plants." 

So  Jennie  went  to  ask  her  mother  if  she 
might  go  with  her  uncle  George.  She  soon  re- 
turned with  her  shawl  and  bonnet  on,  and  then, 
Mr.  George  leading  the  way,  they  all  went  to- 
gether  down   stairs,   and   got   into   a  carriage 


Carlos.  145 

A  carriage  drive.  A  gloomy  looking  building. 

which  was  waiting  for  them  at  the  door.  The 
carriage  was  an  open  one,  with  the  top  turned 
back,  so  that  they  all  had  a  fine  opportunity  to 
see  the  streets  and  the  persons  passing  as  they 
rode  along. 

Mr.  George  directed  the  coachman  to  drive 
first  to  his  hotel  ;  and  the  carriage,  leaving  the 
Place  Vendome  on  the  northern  side,  entered 
into  a  perfect  maze  of  narrow  streets,  through 
which  it  advanced  toward  the  heart  of  the  city. 

After  a  time,  they  came  to  a  long,  straight 
street,  which  led  across  the  city,  through  the 
centre  of  it,  from  the  river  to  the  Boulevards  ; 
and  when  they  were  about  in  the  middle  of  this 
street,  the  attention  of  the  children  was  attracted 
by  a  very  long  and  gloomy-looking  building, 
which  formed  one  side  of  the  street  for  a  con 
siderable  distance  before  them.  It  had  no  win 
dows  toward  the  street,  but  only  a  range  of 
square  recesses  in  the  walls,  of  the  form  of  win- 
dows, but  without  any  glass.  Jennie  asked  Mr. 
George  if  it  was  the  prison. 

"  Not  exactly,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  and  yet 
there  is  one  room  in  it  where  there  are  more 
than  a  hundred  men,  and  they  are  not  permitted 
to  speak  a  loud  word." 

"  Let's  go  and  see  them,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  we  will." 


Rollo   in  Paris. 


The  entrance.  Description  of  the  National  Library  of  Paris. 

So  saying,  he  called  upon  the  coachman  to 
stop  opposite  to  a  great  archway  which  opened 
through  the  building  near  the  middle  of  it.  Mr. 
George  and  the  children  descended  from  the 
carriage  and  went  in  under  the  archway.  Look- 
ing through,  they  saw  a  large  court  yard,  with 
grass,  and  trees,  and  a  fountain.  They  did  not, 
however,  go  on  into  this  court  yard,  but  turned 
to  the  right  to  a  very  broad  flight  of  steps  which 
seemed  to  lead  into  the  building.  There  was  a 
man  in  uniform,  with  a  cocked  hat  upon  his  head, 
who  stood  in  the  passage  way  to  guard  the  en- 
trance. He  made  no  objection,  however,  to  the 
party's  going  in  ;  and  so  they  all  went  on  up  the 
stairway. 

After  passing  through  a  series  of  magnificent 
passages  and  vestibules,  with  very  broad  stair- 
cases, and  massive  stone  balustrades,  and  other 
marks  of  a  very  ancient  and  venerable  style  of 
architecture,  Mr.  George  led  the  way  through  an 
open  door,  where  the  children  saw  extended  before 
them,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  a  long  range  of 
rooms,  opening  into  one  another,  and  all  filled 
with  bookshelves  and  books.  The  rooms  had 
windows  only  on  one  side  ;  that  is,  on  the  side  next 
the  court  yard  ;  and  the  doors  which  led  from  one 
room  to  the  other  were  all  near  that  side  of  the 
roc  in.     Thus   three   sides   of  each  room  were 


Carlos.  147 

Great  extent  of  the  library. 

almost  wholly  unbroken,  and  they  were  all  filled 
with  bookshelves  and  books.  The  doors  which 
led  from  one  room  to  another  were  all  in  a 
range  ;  so  that  standing  at  one  end,  opposite  to 
one  of  these  doors,  the  spectator  could  look 
through  the  whole  range  of  rooms  to  the  other 
end.  The  distance  was,  moreover,  so  great,  that, 
though  there  was  a  group  of  several  persons 
standing  at  the  farther  end  of  the  range  of  rooms 
at  the  time  that  Rollo  entered,  they  looked  so 
small  and  so  indistinct  that  Rollo  could  not 
count  them  to  tell  how  many  there  were. 

"  It  is  a  library,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  it  is  the  National 
Library  of  Paris,  one  of  the  largest  libraries  in 
the  world.  The  books  have  been  accumulating 
here  for  ages." 

"  I  don't  see  what  can  be  the  use  of  such  a 
large  library,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  nobody  can  possibly 
read  all  the  books." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  they  cannot  read 
them  all ;  but  they  may  wish  to  consult  them. 
There  are  often  particular  reasons  for  seeing 
some  particular  book,  which  was  published  so 
long  ago  that  it  is  not  now  to  be  found  in  com- 
mon bookstores  ;  in  such  cases,  people  come 
here,  and  they  are  pretty  sure  to  find  the  boot: 
in  this  collection." 


148  Rollo   in   Parts. 

The  party  walk  through  the  rooms.  A  curious  floor. 

There  were  several  parties  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen to  be  seen,  at  different  distances,  walking 
along  the  range  of  rooms,  all  of  whom  seemed 
to  be  visitors.  Mr.  George,  himself,  walked  on, 
and  the  children  followed  him.  They  passed 
from  one  apartment  to  another,  amazed  at  the 
number  of  books.  They  were  all  neatly  arranged 
on  bookshelves,  which  extended  from  the  floor 
to  the  ceiling,  and  were  protected  by  a  wire 
netting  in  front;  so  that,  although  the  visitors 
could  see  the  books,  they  could  not  take  them 
down. 

Mr.  George  and  the  children  walked  on, 
until,  at  length,  they  came  to  the  end  of 
the  range  of  rooms,  and  there  they  found 
another  range,  running  at  right  angles  to  the 
first,  back  from  the  street.  They  turned  and 
walked  along  through  these  rooms,  too.  The 
floors  of  all  the  rooms  were  very  smooth  and 
glossy,  being  formed  of  narrow  boards,  of  dark- 
colored  wood,  curiously  inlaid,  and  highly  pol- 
ished. Rollo  told  Jennie  that  he  believed  he 
could  slide  on  such  floors  as  well  as  he  could  on 
ice,  if  he  thought  they  would  let  him  try.  lie 
knew  very  well,  however,  that  it  would  not  be 
proper  to  try.  Besides,  he  observed  that  there 
were  standing  at  different  distances  along  the 
range  of    rooms  certain  men,  in  uniform,  who 


Carlos.  14S 

Convenient  arrangement  of  the  books  and  curiosities. 

seemed  to  be  officers  stationed  in  the  library  to 
guard  against  any  thing  like  irregularity  or  dis- 
order on  the  part  of  the  visitors. 

Besides  the  books,  there  were  a  great  many 
other  things  to  interest  visitors  in  the  rooms  of 
the  library,  such  as  models  of  buildings,  statues, 
collections  of  coins,  medals,  and  precious  gems, 
and  other  similar  curiosities.  These  things  were 
arranged  on  tables  and  in  cases  made  expressly 
for  them,  and  placed  in  the  various  rooms.  The 
tables  and  cases  occupy,  generally,  the  central' 
parts  of  the  rooms  that  they  were  placed  in,  so 
as  not  to  interfere  with  the  use  of  the  sides  of 
the  rooms  for  books.  In  one  place  was  a  col- 
lection of  some  of  the  oldest  books  that  ever 
were  printed,  showing  the  style  of  typography 
that  prevailed  when  the  art  of  printing  was  first 
discovered.  Mr.  George  took  great  interest  in 
looking  at  these.  Rollo  and  Jennie,  however, 
did  not  think  much  of  them  ;  and  so,  while  their 
uncle  was  examining  these  ancient  specimens, 
they  went  to  the  windows  and  looked  out  into 
the  court  yard.  This  court  formed  a  green  and 
beautiful  garden,  shaded  with  trees  and  adorned 
with  fountains  and  walks.  The  visitors  could 
see  that  the  buildings  of  the  library  extended  in 
long  ranges  all  around  it. 

At  length,  at  the  end  of  the  second  range  of 


150  Rollo  in  Paris. 

The  reading  room.  The  way  to  get  a  book. 

rooms,  the  party  came  to  a  third  range,  -which 
was  parallel  to  the  first,  and  which  extended 
along  the  back  side  of  the  court  yard.  The 
children  could  not  go  into  these  apartments,  for 
the  entrance  to  them  was  closed  by  a  glass  parti- 
tion. They  could,  however,  look  through  the 
partition  and  see  what  there  was  within.  They 
beheld  a  very  long  hall,  which  was  several  hun- 
dred feet  in  length,  apparently,  and  quite  wide, 
and  it  was  lined  on  both  sides  with  bookshelves 
'and  books.  Long  tables  were  extended  up  and 
down  this  hall,  with  a  great  number  of  gentle- 
men sitting  at  them,  all  engaged  in  silent  study. 
Some  were  reading  ;  some  were  writing  ;  some 
were  looking  at  books  of  maps  or  engravings. 
There  were  desks  at  various  places  up  and  down 
the  room,  with  officers  belonging  to  the  library 
sitting  at  them,  and  several  messengers,  dressed 
in  uniform,  going  to  and  fro  bringing  books. 
Mr.  George  explained  to  the  children  that  there 
was  another  entrance  to  this  room,  leading  from 
the  court  yard  by  a  separate  staircase,  and  that 
any  person  who  wished  to  read  or  study  might 
go  in  there  and  sit  at  those  tables,  only  he  must 
be  still,  and  not  disturb  the  studies  of  the  rest. 
If  he  wished  for  any  book,  he  could  not  go  and 
get  it  from  the  shelves,  but  must  write  the  title 
of  it  in  full  on  a  slip  of  paper,  and  carry  it  to 


Carlos.  151 

The  rooms  of  prints  and  engravings. 

one  of  the  desks.  The  officer  would  take  the 
slip  and  give  it  to  one  of  the  messengers,  who 
would  then  go  and  get  the  book. 

After  looking  through  the  glass  partition  at 
this  great  company  of  readers  and  students  until 
their  curiosity  was  satisfied,  the  children  turned 
away,  and  Mr.  George  conducted  them  back 
through  the  long  ranges  of  rooms  by  the  same 
way  that  they  came.  When,  at  length,  they  got 
back  to  the  staircase  where  they  had  come  up, 
Mr.  George,  instead  of  going  out  where  he  had 
come  in,  descended  by  another  way,  through  new 
corridors  and  passages,  until  he  came  to  a  room 
where  a  considerable  number  of  people  were  sit- 
ting at  tables,  looking  at  books  of  engravings. 
The  sides  of  this  room,  and  of  several  others 
opening  into  it,  were  filled  with  bound  volumes 
of  prints  and  engravings,  some  plain  and  some 
colored,  but  very  beautiful.  Many  of  the  vol- 
umes were  very  large  ;  but  however  large  they 
might  be,  it  was  very  easy  to  turn  over  the  leaves 
and  see  the  pictures,  for  the  tables,  or  rather, 
desks,  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  were  so  con- 
trived that  a  book,  placed  upon  them,  was  held 
at  precisely  the  right  slope  to  be  seen  to  advan- 
tage by  persons  sitting  before  it.  Mr.  George 
told  the  children,  in  a  whisper,  that  any  one 
might  ask  for  any  book  there  was  there,  and  the 


152  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Mr.  George  and  the  children  drive  to  the  hotel. 

attendants  would  place  it  on  one  of  the  tables 
for  him,  where  he  might  sit  and  look  at  the 
prints  in  it  as  long  as  he  pleased. 

"  Some  day,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  we  will 
couie  here  and  look  over  some  of  these  books  ; 
but  to-day  we  must  go  to  the  Garden  of  Plants." 

Mr.  George  then  led  the  children  back  to  the 
carriage,  and  ordered  the  coachman  to  drive  to 
his  hotel. 

The  hotel  was  situated  on  the  site  of  an  open 
square,  which,  though  by  no  means  so  grand  and 
magnificent  as  the  Place  Vendome,  was  still  a 
very  pleasant  place. 

There  was  a  fountain  in  the  centre,  with  a 
large  basin  of  water  around  it.  Outside  of  this 
basin  the  square  was  paved  with  asphaltum,  and 
was  as  hard  and  smooth  as  a  floor.  The  pave- 
ment was  shaded  with  trees,  which  were  planted 
at  equal  distances  all  over  it ;  and  under  the 
trees  there  were  seats,  where  various  persons 
were  sitting.  There  were  many  children,  too, 
playing  about  under  the  trees,  some  trundling 
hoop,  some  jumping  rope,  and  some  playing 
horses. 

The  carriage  stopped  at  the  door  of  the  hotel, 
and  Mr.  George  took  the  children  up  to  his 
room.  It  was  a  front  room,  and  it  looked  out 
upon   the   square.     The   children   went  to    the 


Carlos.  153 

The  view  from  Mr.  George's  window. 

window,  and,  while  Mr.  George  was  getting 
ready  to  go,  they  amused  themselves  by  looking 
at  the  children  that  were  playing  on  the  square. 

Among  the  other  children,  there  was  a  boy, 
apparently  about  eight  years  of  age,  who  was 
sitting  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  children,  on  a 
bench  by  himself.  His  complexion  was  dark, 
and  his  hair  very  black  and  glossy.  He  was 
very  neatly  and  prettily  dressed,  though  in  a 
very  peculiar  style,  his  costume  being  quite  dif- 
erent  from  any  thing  that  Rollo  had  ever  before 
seen.  He  had  a  ball  in  his  hand,  which  now 
and  then  he  tossed  into  the  air. 

"  He  has  not  any  body  to  play  with,"  said  Rol- 
lo to  Jennie.  "  I  have  a  great  mind  to  go  down 
and  play  with  him  while  uncle  George  is  getting 
ready." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  you  can  go. 
I  shall  not  be  ready  for  nearly  half  an  hour. 
We  do  not  wish  to  get  to  the  Garden  of  Plants 
before  twelve  o'clock." 

Rollo  hesitated  a  little  about  going  down,  and 
while  he  was  hesitating  the  boy  rose  from  his 
seat  and  came  toward  the  hotel.  He  entered 
under  the  archway,  and  presently  Rollo  heard 
him  coming  up  the  staircase.  He  then  deter- 
mined to  hesitate  no  longer  ;  so  he  went  out  into 
the  passage  way  to  see  him. 


154  Rollo   in   Paris. 

Rollo  finds  a  companion.  Playing  ball. 

The  boy  had  reached  the  top  of  the  staircase 
when  Rollo  went  out,  and  was  just  then  coming 
along  the  hall.  He  looked  at  Rollo  with  a  smile 
as  he  came  toward  him,  and  this  encouraged 
Rollo  to  speak  to  him. 

"  Cant  you  find  any  one  to  play  with  you?" 
said  Roilo. 

The  boy  shook  his  head,  but  did  not  speak. 

He  meant  Dy  this  that  he  did  not  understand 
what  Rollo  said  ;  but  Rollo  thought  he  meant 
that  he  could  not  find  any  one  to  play  with  him. 

"  I  will  play  with  you,"  said  Rollo  ;  and  as  he 
spoke  he  held  out  his  hands,  with  the  wrists  to- 
gether and  the  palms  open  between  them,  in  a 
manner  customary  with  boys  for  catching  a  ball. 

The  boy  understood  the  sign,  though  he  did 
not  understand  the  words.  He  tossed  the  ball 
to  Rollo,  and  Rollo  caught  it.  Rollo  then  tossed 
it  back  again.  Presently  Rollo  made  signs  to 
the  boy  to  sit  down  upon  the  floor  at  one  end  of 
the  hall,  while  he  sat  down  at  the  other,  explain- 
ing his  wishes  also  at  the  same  time  in  words. 
The  boy  talked  too,  in  reply  to  Rollo,  accompa- 
nying what  he  said  with  signs  and  gestures. 
They  got  along  thus  together  in  their  play  very 
well,  each  one  imagining  that  he  helped  to  con- 
vey his  meaning  to  the  other  by  what  he  said, 
while,  in  fact,  neither  understood  a  word   that 


Carlos.  155 

Rollo's  experiments  in  conversation  with  Carlos. 

was  spoken  by  the  other,  and  so  took  notice  of 
nothing  but  the  signs. 

Hollo  listened  attentively  once  or  twice  to 
short  replies  that  his  new  friend  made  to  him, 
in  order  to  see  if  he  could  not  distinguish  some 
words  in  it  that  he  could  understand  ;  but  he 
could  not  ;  and  he  finally  concluded  that  it  must 
be  some  other  language  than  French  that  the  boy 
was  speaking.  He  was  sorry  for  this ;  for  he 
could  understand  short  sentences  in  French  pret- 
ty well,  and  could  speak  short  sentences  himself 
in  reply.  When,  however,  he  tried  to  speak  to 
the  boy  in  French,  he  observed  that  he  did  not 
appear  to  understand  him  any  better  than  when 
he  spoke  in  English.  This  confirmed  him  in  the 
opinion  that  the  boy  must  belong  to  some  other 
nation. 

After  playing  together  for  some  time  with  the 
ball,  the  two  boys  began  to  feel  quite  acquainted 
with  each  other.  Rollo  wished  very  much  to 
find  out  his  new  companion's  name  ;  so  he  asked 
him,  in  English, — 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

The  boy  smiled,  and  throwing  the  ball  across 
again  to  Rollo  as  he  spoke,  said  something  in  re- 
ply ;  but  it  was  a  great  deal  too  much  to  be  hia 
name.    What  he  said  was,  when  interpreted  into 


1 56  R  olio    in    Paris. 

A  droll  dialogue. 

English,  "  My  father  bought  this  ball  for  me,  and 
gave  two  francs  for  it." 

Then  Rollo  thought  he  would  try  French  ;  sc 
he  translated  his  question,  and  asked  it  in  French. 

"  And  I  am  going  to  carry  it  with  me  to  Swit- 
zerland and  Italy,"  said  the  boy,  speaking  still 
:n  the  unknown  tongue. 

"  That  can't  be  your  name,  either,"  said  Rollo, 
''  I  am  very  sure." 

Then,  after  a  moment's  pause,  he  added,  in  an 
eager  voice  and  manner,  as  if  a  new  idea  had 
Buddenly  struck  him, — 

"  We  are  going  to  the  Garden  of  Plants  — 
uncle  George,  and  Jennie,  and  I ;  wouldn't  you 
like  to  go,  too?" 

The  boy  smiled,  and  held  out  his  hands  for 
Rollo  to  roll  the  ball  to  him,  saying  something  at 
the  same  time  which  to  Rollo  seemed  totally  un- 
meaning. 

"  He  does  not  understand  me,  I  suppose  ;  but  I 
know  how  I  can  explain  it  to  him." 

So  he  rose  from  the  floor,  and,  by  means  of  a 
great  deal  of  earnest  gesticulation  and  beckon- 
ing, he  induced  the  boy  to  get  up  too,  and  follow 
him.  Rollo  led  the  way  iuto  his  uncle's  cham- 
ber. The  boy  seemed  pleased,  though  a  little 
timid,  in  going  in. 


Carlos.  157 

Rollo's  invitation  by  signs. 


"  Uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  here  is  a  boy 
that  cannot  talk.  Are  you  willing  that  I  should 
invite  him  to  go  with  us  to  the  Garden  of 
Plants?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  though  I  don't  see 
how  you  are  going  to  do  it." 

Rollo  led  the  boy  to  the  window,  and  pointed 
to  the  carriage,  which  stood  down  before  the 
door  below.  Then  he  opened  a  map  of  Paris 
which  lay  upon  the  table,  and  found  the  Garden 
of  Plants  laid  down  upon  it,  and  showed  it  to 
the  boy.  Then  he  pointed  to  his  uncle  George, 
to  Jennie,  and  to  himself,  and  then  to  the  car- 
riage. Then  he  made  a  motion  with  his  hand  to 
denote  going.  By  these  gesticulations  he  con- 
veyed the  idea  quite  distinctly  to  his  new  ac- 
quaintance that  they  were  all  going  to  the  Gar- 
den of  Plants.  He  then  finally  pointed  to  the 
boy  himself,  and  also  to  the  carriage,  and  looked 
at  him  with  an  inquiring  look,  which  he  meant 
as  an  invitation  to  the  boy  to  accompany  them. 
The  boy  paid  close  attention  to  all  these  signs ; 
and  when  Rollo  had  finished,  instead  of  either  nod- 
ding or  shaking  his  head,  in  token  of  his  accept- 
ing or  declining  the  invitation,  as  Rollo  expected 
he  would  have  done,  he  took  up  the  map,  and, 
making  certain  mysterious  gestures,  which  Rollo 


1.58  Rollo    in   Paris. 

What  the  boy  did  upon  receiving  the  invitation. 

could  not  comprehend,  he  walked  off  rapidly  out 
of  the  room. 

Rollo  looked  at  his  uncle  George  with  an 
expression  of  great  astonishment  on  his  coun« 
tenance. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Perhaps  he  has  gone  to  ask  his  father  or  his 
mother,"  suggested  Mr.  George. 

"  He  has/'  exclaimed  Rollo,  "he  has ;  that's  it, 
I'm  sure." 

So  Rollo  went  out  immediately  into  the  hall 
to  wait  till  the  boy  came  back. 

In  a  few  minutes  a  door  opened,  which  led 
into  a  suite  of  apartments  in  the  rear  of  the 
hotel,  and  the  boy,  with  the  map  in  his  hand, 
came  into  the  hall,  nodding  his  head,  and  look- 
ing very  much  pleased  ;  talking  all  the  time, 
moreover,  in  a  very  voluble  but  perfectly  unin- 
telligible manner.  A  moment  after  he  came  the 
door  opened  again,  and  a  very  respectably 
dressed  man,  of  middle  age,  came  into  the  hall. 
The  boy  pointed  to  Rollo,  and  said  something  to 
this  man. 

"  Are  you  going  to  the  Garden  of  Plants  ?  " 
said  the  man  to  Rollo,  speaking  in  English, 
though  with  a  very  decidedly  foreign  accent. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo. 


Caelos.  159 

Permission.  1  he  courier. 

"  And  did  you  invite  Carlos  to  go  with  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  only  I  did  not  know 
that  his  name  was  Carlos.  He  told  me  some- 
thing veiy  different  from  that.  What  language 
is  it  that  he  talks  ?    Is  it  French  ?  " 

"No,"  replied  the  man,  "it  is  Spanish.  He 
is  a  Spanish  boy.  He  cannot  understand  a  word 
of  French  or  English.  But  he  may  go  with  you 
to  the  Garden  of  Plants." 

"Are  you  his  father,  sir?"  asked  Rollo. 

"  No,"  replied  the  man,  "  I  am  his  father's 
courier."  * 

So  saying,  the  man  passed  on,  leaving  Rollo 
and  Carlos  together. 

"  Come,  Carlos,"  said  Rollo,  "  let  us  go  into 
uncle  George's  room,  and  see  if  he  is  not  ready 
to  go." 

Rollo  beckoned  as  he  spoke,  and  Carlos,  un- 
derstanding his  action,  though  not  his  words, 
immediately  followed  him.  In  fact,  during  all 
his  subsequent  intercourse  with  Carlos,   Rollo 

*  A  courier  is  a  travelling  servant.  A  good  courier  understands 
all  the  principal  languages  of  Europe,  and  is  acquainted  with  all 
the  routes  and  modes  of  travelling.  He  takes  all  the  care  of  the 
party  that  employs  him;  makes  bargains  for  them;  finds  out 
good  hotels  for  them  to  go  to  ;  pays  the  hills  ;  obtains  all  neces- 
sary information ;  and  does  every  thing  for  them,  in  fact,  which  if 
required  in  making  the  tour  of  Europe. 


160  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  strange  conversation  that  Rollo  and  Carlos  carried  on. 

continued  to  talk  to  him  just  as  if  he  could  un 
derstand,  and  Carlos  talked  also  in  reply. 

It  is  true,  that,  if  Rollo  had  been  asked  whether 
he  supposed  that  Carlos  understood  what  he  said, 
he  would  have  answered  no  ;  and  yet  he  con- 
tinually forgot  to  act  upon  this  belief,  but  talked 
on,  under  the  influence  of  a  sort  of  instinctive 
feeling  that  good  plain  English,  such  as  he  took 
care  to  speak,  could  not  fail  to  convey  ideas  to 
aDy  boy  that  heard  it.  Under  the  influence  of 
a  similar  feeling,  Carlos  talked  Spanish  to  Rollo, 
each  imagining  that  the  other  understood  him, 
at  least  in  some  degree,  while,  in  fact,  neither  un- 
derstood any  thing  but  the  signs  and  gestures 
which  accompanied  the  language. 

Just  as  they  were  about  to  set  out,  one  of  Mr. 
George's  friends  called  to  see  him ;  and  when  he 
found  that  the  party  were  going  to  the  Garden 
of  Plants,  he  wished  to  go  too.  There  was 
scarcely  room  for  so  many  in  the  carriage,  and 
so  Rollo  proposed  that  he  and  Carlos  should  go 
in  an  omnibus. 

"  There  is  an  omnibus,"  said  he,  "  that  goes 
there  through  the  Boulevards,  close  by  here  ;  and 
Carlos  and  I  will  go  in  that,  and  then  we  cai 
find  you  in  the  garden." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George. 


Carlos 


161 


Rollo  and  Carlos  set  out  for  the  Garden  oi  P'liita. 


"  Come,  Carlos,  come  with  mc  "  said  Rollo , 
"  we  are  going  to  find  an  omnibus." 

Carlos  perceived  that  Rollo  was  proposing 
that  they  should  go  somewhere  together,  but  he 
did  not  know  where,  or  for  what ;  nor  did  ho 
care.  He  was  ready  to  assent  to  any  thing.  So 
he  and  Rollo,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  party  in  the 
act  of  getting  into  the  carriage,  walked  along 
up  the  street  which  led  to  the  Boulevards. 


162  Rollo  im'  Paris 


Children's  chapels  in  France. 


Chapter  VIII. 

The  Garden  of  Plants. 

Rollo  and  Carlos  had  not  gone  far  before 
they  came  to  a  place  where  two  children  had  set 
up  what  they  called  a  chapel,  under  the  archway 
which  led  to  the  interior  of  the  house  where 
they  lived.  A  real  chapel,  in  Catholic  countries, 
is  any  consecrated  place,  large  or  small,  contain- 
ing an  altar,  and  a  crucifix,  and  other  sacred 
emblems,  where  masses  are  said  and  other  re- 
ligious services  are  performed.  Real  chapels 
are  made  in  the  alcoves  of  churches,  in  monu- 
ments over  tombs,  and  in  other  similar  places, 
and  children  have  toy  chapels  to  play  with. 
There  are  little  crucifixes,  and  candlesticks,  and 
communion  cups,  and  other  similar  things  foi 
Bale  at  the  toy  shops.  Sometimes  the  children 
buy  these  things  and  arrange  them  on  a  small 
table,  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  for  play,  just  as 
in  Protestant  countries  they  arrange  a  pulpit 
and  chairs  for  a  congregation,  and  so  make 
believe  have  a  meeting.     Sometimes  the  children 


The   Garden   of  Plants.        163 

Contributions.  Discussion  between  Rollo  and  Carlos. 

bring  out  their  chapel  and  set  it  near  the  side- 
walk, by  the  street,  and  then  hold  out  a  little 
plate  to  ask  the  passers  by  for  contributions. 
There  are  almost  always  some  people  more  good 
natured  than  wise,  who  will  give  them  a  sou  or 
two ;  and  thus  they  often  made  up  quite  a  little 
purse  of  money. 

In  this  case,  as  Rollo  and  Carlos  were  passing 
along,  the  little  girl,  who  was  very  nicely  dressed 
in  holiday  costume,  held  out  a  small  plate,  say- 
ing,— 

"One  sou,  gentlemen,  if  you  please,  for  the 
little  chapel." 

Rollo  and  Carlos  stopped  to  look  at  the  chapel. 

"  What  pretty  little  candles !  "  said  Rollo,  talk- 
ing half  to  himself  and  half  to  Carlos,  "  and 
how  tall !  I  wish  I  had  some  of  them  for 
Jennie." 

"  I  have  got  a  chapel  at  home,"  said  Carlos. 

"She  wants  us  to  give  her  a  sou,"  continued 
Rollo.     "Would  you?" 

"  And  I  will  show  it  to  you  if  you  ever  come 
to  Barcelona,"  said  Carlos. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  to  give  her  a  sou  or 
not,"  said  Rollo.     "  Would  you,  Carlos  ?  " 

"  My  candlesticks  are  of  real  silver,"  said 
Carlos,  "but  these  are  not." 

Rollo  finally  concluded  to  give  the  girl  a  sou, 

K 


164  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  plearures  of  conversation.  The  Boulevards. 

thinking  that  he  was  in  some  measure  bound  to 
do  it,  after  having  stopped  so  long  to  look  at 
her  chapel ;  and  then  he  and  Carlos  walked  on 
as  before.  As  they  went  on  they  continued  to 
talk  together,  from  time  to  time,  Rollo  in  Eng- 
lish and  Carlos  in  Spanish,  neither  of  them,  how 
ever,  paying  any  attention  to  what  the  othei 
said.  This  was  a  very  good  plan,  for  there  was 
a  sense  of  companionship  in  this  sort  of  conver- 
sation, though  it  communicated  no  ideas.  They 
took  the  same  kind  of  pleasure  in  it,  probably, 
that  birds  do  in  the  singing  of  their  mates.  In 
fact,  it  often  happens,  when  a  group  of  children 
are  talking  together  in  a  language  which  they 
all  understand,  that  each  one  talks  for  the 
pleasure  of  talking,  and  none  of  them  pay  any 
attention  to  what  the  others  say. 

Presently  the  two  boys  reached  the  Boulevard. 
It  was  a  very  broad  and  magnificent  street,  and 
the  sidewalks  were  very  wide.  The  sidewalks, 
wide  as  they  were,  were  thronged  with  foot  pas- 
sengers, and  the  street  itself  was  full  of  car- 
riages. Very  soon  an  omnibus  came  along  ;  but 
it  was  full.  There  are  a  great  many  curious 
contrivances  about  a  French  omnibus ;  one  of 
which  is,  that  there  is  a  sign,  with  the  word 
complete,  in  French,  painted  upon  it  in  large 
letters.      The  sign  is  placed   directly  over   the 


The   Garden  of  Plants.      165 

The  sign  on  the  omnibus  to  show  when  it  is  full. 

door  of  the  omnibus  behind,  and  is  attached  to 
the  top  of  the  coach  by  a  hinge  at  the  lower 
edge.  When  the  omnibus  is  full,  the  conductor 
who  rides  on  the  step  behind  pulls  up  this  sign, 
by  means  of  a  cord  attached  to  it,  and  then  all 
the  people  on  the  sidewalks  can  see  that  there 
is  no  room  for  them.  When  any  passengers  get 
out  so  as  to  make  room  for  others,  then  the  con- 
ductor lets  this  sign  down,  and  it  lies  flat  upon 
the  top  of  the  coach,  out  of  sight,  until  the 
omnibus  gets  full  again,  when  it  is  drawn  up  as 
before. 

,if>Oomplete,"  said  Rollo,  pointing  to  the  sign, 
which  was  up  and  in  full  view.  "  That  omnibus 
is  full." 

"Yes,"  said  Carlos,  "  I  see  him.  His  cap  is  so 
high  that  he  can't  wear  it  in  the  omnibus,  and  so 
he  has  to  take  it  off." 

"  But  there  will  be  another  one  pretty  soon," 
said  Kollo. 

"If  I  were  a  soldier,"  said  Carlos,  "I  would 
never  get  into  an  omnibus  at  all.  I  would  have 
an  elegant  black  horse  with  a  long  tail,  and 
I  would  go  galloping  through  the  streets  on  my 
horse." 

At  length  an  omnibus  came  along  which  was 
not  full,  and  Rollo  and  Carlos  got  into  it.  After 
meeting  with  various  adventures  on  the  way,  and 


166  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  guard  at  the  gate.       Rollo's  astonishment  at  the  Garden  of  Plants. 

changing  from  one  omnibus  to  another,  accord- 
ing to  the  system  which  prevails  in  Paris,  they 
finally  reached  the  gates  of  the  garden.  There 
was  a  sentry  box  on  each  side  of  the  gates,  and 
soldiers,  with  bayonets  fixed,  guarding  the 
entrance.  There  were,  however,  a  great  many 
people  going  in.  The  soldiers  did  not  prevent 
them.  They  had  orders  to  allow  all  persons 
who  were  quiet  and  orderly,  and  had  no  dogs 
with  them,  to  enter  freely.  So  Rollo  and  Carlos 
passed  directly  in. 

Rollo's  first  feeling  was  that  of  astonishment 
at  the  extent  and  variety  of  the  scenes' 'and 
prospects  which  opened  before  him.  Instead  of 
a  small  garden,  laid  out  in  gravel  walks,  and 
beds  of  flowers,  as  he  had  imagined,  he  found 
himself  entering  a  perfect  maze  of  winding 
walks,  which  were  bordered  on  all  sides  by  an 
endless  variety  of  enclosures,  groups  of  shrub- 
bery, groves,  huts,  cabins,  yards,  ponds  of  water, 
and  every  other  element  of  rural  scenery.  The 
whole,  as  it  first  burst  upon  Rollo's  eye,  formed 
a  most  enchanting  landscape,  and  extended 
farther  than  he  could  see.  The  walks  mean- 
dered about  in  the  most  winding  and  devious 
ways.  The  spaces  between  them  were  enclosed 
by  neat  little  fences  of  lattice  work,  and  were 
divided  into  little  parks,  or  fields,  in  each  of 


The   Garden   of   Plants.        167 

Turtles  and  tortoises.  Ostriches  and  giraffes. 

.which  some  strange  and  unknown  animals  were 
feeding.  There  were  ponds,  with  a  quantity  of 
birds  of  the  gayest  plumage  sailing  upon  them  ; 
and  green  slopes,  with  goats,  or  deer,  or  sheep,  of 
the  most  extraordinary  forms  and  colors,  grazing 
in  them.  At  one  place  Rollo  stopped  to  look  at 
a  small  basin  of  water,  with  a  broad  stone  mar- 
gin all  around  it,  which  was  completely  covered 
with  turtles  and  tortoises  of  all  colors  and  sizes. 
The  animals  were  lying  there  asleep,  basking  in 
the  sun.  A  little  farther  on  was  a  beautiful  little 
yard,  almost  surrounded  with  trees  and  shrubbery, 
where  three  or  four  ostriches,  with  long  necks, 
and  heads  higher  than  Rollo's,  were  walking 
about  with  a  very  majestic  air.  And  farther 
still  there  was  a  little  field,  the  occupants  of 
which  excited  the  astonishment  of  the  boys  to  a 
still  higher  degree.  They  were  three  giraffes. 
One  of  them,  with  his  head  twenty  feet  in  the 
air,  was  cropping  the  leaves  from  the  top  of  a 
tall  tree.  The  second  was  standing  still,  quietly 
looking  at  the  groups  of  visitors  that  were  gazing 
upon  him  from  without  the  paling  ;  while  the 
third  was  amusing  himself  by  galloping  about 
the  yard,  with  a  sort  of  rolling  motion  that  it 
was  most  astonishing  to  see. 

Rollo     and    Carlos    advanced    among    these 
scenes,   drawn  from  one   to    the   other   by   the 


168  Hollo   in  Paris. 

Rollo  and  Carlos  hear  a  roaring. 

new  objects  which  every  where  presented  them- 
selves to  view,  and  uttering  to  each  other  con- 
tinual exclamations  of  astonishment.  In  fact, 
they  talked  incessantly  to  one  another  as  they 
walked  on,  pointing  out,  each  to  the  other,  what- 
ever attracted  their  attention,  and  making  all 
sorts  of  comments  upon  what  they  saw. 

Presently  a  low,  bellowing  sound  was  heard 
among  the  trees  at  a  little  distance. 

"  Hark !  "  said  Rollo,  in  English,  putting  his 
hand  upon  Carlos's  shoulder.  "What's  that?  I 
hear  a  roaring." 

"  Hark  !  "  said  Carlos,  in  Spanish.  "  What's 
that?     I  hear  a  roaring." 

Neither  of  the  boys  understood  the  words 
which  the  other  spoke  ;  but  they  knew  very  well 
that  they  were  both  listening  to  and  talking 
about  the  roaring. 

"  Let's  go  and  see  what  it  is,"  said  Rollo. 

"  We'll  go  and  see,"  said  Carlos. 

So  off  they  started  together  in  the  direction 
of  the  sound.  They  walked  along  a  short  dis- 
tance, passing  several  beautiful  little  enclosures, 
where  quiet  and  gentle-looking  animals,  of  va- 
rious forms,  were  grazing  in  their  mimic  pas- 
lures,  or  lying  at  rest  before  ;he  doors  of  the 
thatched-roofed  cabins  that  had  been  built  for 
them  instead  of  barns,  until  at  length  they  came 


The   Garden   of  Plants.       169 


The  cages  filled  with  ferocious  heasts  of  prey. 


to  a  place  where  a  long  range  of  buildings  opened 
to  view  before  them,  the  fronts  of  which,  instead 
of  showing  doors  and  windows,  were  formed  of 
gratings  of  iron.  The  interior  of  this  range  was 
divided  into  compartments,  each  one  of  which 
formed  an  immense  cage.  These  cages  were  all 
filled  with  lions,  tigers,  panthers,  leopards,  hye- 
nas, and  other  ferocious  beasts  of  prey.  Some 
were  walking  to  and  fro  restlessly  in  their  nar- 
row prisons ;  others  were  lying  down ;  and 
others  still  were  crouched  in  a  corner  of  their 
cage,  where  they  remained  motionless,  gazing 
with  a  sullen  air  upon  the  visitors  who  stood 
looking  at  them  from  without  the  grating. 

Rollo  and  Carlos  walked  back  and  forth  in 
front  of  these  cages  several  times,  looking  at  the 
animals.  They  admired  the  beauty  and  grace  of 
the  tigers  and  leopards,  and  the  majestic  dignity 
of  the  lions.  There  were  a  lion  and  a  lioness  to- 
gether in  one  cage.  The  lioness  was  walking 
restlessly  to  and  fro  ;  while  the  lion  sat  crouched 
in  the  back  part  of  the  cage,  with  an  expression 
upon  his  countenance  in  which  the  lofty  pride 
and  majesty  of  his  character,  and  the  patience 
and  submissiveness  which  pertained  to  his  situa 
tion,  were  combined. 

"  Poor  fellow  ! "  said  Rollo  ;  "  if  I  had  you  and 


170  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Strange  sounds.  A  labyrinth. 

your  cage  in  Africa,  where  you  belong,  I  would 
:>pen  the  door  and  let  you  go." 

Just  at  this  moment  the  attention  of  both  Rol 
lo  and  Carlos  was  suddenly  arrested  by  a  most 
unearthly  sound  at  a  little  distance  from  them, 
which  seemed  to  be  intermediate  between  a 
scream  and  a  roar.  It  was  so  loud,  too,  as  to  be 
truly  terrific. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  said  Rollo,  suddenly,  in  Eng- 
lish. 

"  Ah,  what  a  dreadful  bray  that  is !  "  said  Car- 
los, in  Spanish. 

"  Would  you  go  out  there  and  see  what  it  is  ?  " 
said  Rollo. 

"  Hark !  Let's  go  there  and  see  what  it  is," 
said  Carlos. 

So  the  boys  started  together  to  go  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  sound. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  for  a  stranger  in  the 
Garden  of  Plants  to  be  sure  of  going  any  con- 
siderable distance  in  any  one  direction,  for  the 
walks  are  meandering  and  circuitous  beyond 
description.  They  wind  about  perpetually  in 
endless  mazes  ;  and  the  little  fields,  and  parks, 
and  gardens  that  are  enclosed  between  them 
are  so  enveloped  in  shrubbery,  and  the  view, 
moreover,  is  so  intercepted  with  the  huts  and 


The   Gaeden  of   Plants.        171 

The  rustic  huts  of  the  lamas. 

cabins  built  for  the  animals,  and  with  the  pal- 
ings and  networks  made  to  confine  them,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  see  far  in  any  direction.  Be- 
sides, there  is  so  much  to  attract  the  attention, 
and  to  excite  curiosity  and  wonder,  at  every 
step,  that  one  is  continually  drawn  away  from 
one  alley  to  another,  till  he  gets  hopelessly  be- 
wildered. 

The  huts  and  cabins  which  were  made  for  the 
animals  were  very  curious,  and  many  of  them 
were  so  pretty,  with  their  rustic  walls  and 
thatched  roof,  that  Rollo  was  extremely  pleased 
with  them.  He  stopped  before  one  of  them, 
which  was  the  residence  of  a  pair  of  beautiful 
lamas,  and  told  Carlos  that  he  meant  to  ask  his 
uncle  George  to  take  particular  notice  how  it 
was  made,  and  so  make  one  for  him  for  a  play- 
house when  he  got  home. 

"  And  I  wonder/'  said  he,  "  where  my  uncle 
George  and  Jennie  are.  I  don't  see  how  we  are 
ever  to  find  them.  I  did  not  know  that  this 
garden  was  so  large  and  so  full  of  trees  and 
bushes." 

"  Look  there  !  "  said  Carlos,  pointing  through 
an  opening  in  the  shrubbery  along  the  winding 
walk.     "  What  are  they  doing  there  ?  " 

Rollo,  understanding  the  gesture,  though  not 
the  words,  turned  in  the  direction  that   Carlos 


172  Rollo  ix   Paris. 


The  castle  inhabited  by  monsters. 


indicated,  and  saw  that  there  was  quite  a  crowd 
of  men,  women,  and  children  at  the  place,  all 
engaged,  evidently,  in  looking  at  something  or 
other  very  intently. 

"  Let's  go  and  see,"  said  Rollo. 

So  the  boys  went  along  that  way  together. 
They  soon  came  in  view  of  a  very  high  and 
strong  palisade,  which,  though  it  was  half  con- 
cealed by  trees  and  shrubbery,  evidently  enclosed 
quite  a  considerable  area,  in  the  centre  of  which 
was  a  large  stone  building,  like  a  castle,  with 
projecting  wings  and  towers,  and  immense  gate- 
ways opening  into  it  on  various  sides.  This 
building  was  the  residence  of  all  the  monsters  — 
the  elephants,  the  giraffes,  the  rhinoceros,  and 
the  hippopotamus.  Each  of  these  species  had  its 
own  separate  apartment  in  the  castle  ;  and  the 
ground  surrounding  it,  within  the  great  palisade, 
was  divided  into  as  many  yards  as  there  were 
doors  ;  so  that  each  kind  of  animal  had  its  own 
proper  enclosure.  In  one  of  these  enclosures 
the  rhinoceros  was  walking  about,  clothed  in  his 
plated  and  invulnerable  hide ;  and  in  the  next 
there  were  two  elephants.  The  crowd  of  peo- 
ple were  chiefly  occupied  in  looking  at  the  ele- 
phants. The  palisade  was  very  heavy  and  strong, 
oeing  formed  of  timbers  pointed  at  the  top,  and 
nearly  as  high   as   the   elephants   could  reach. 


The   Garden  of  Plants.        173 

The  palisade  around  the  castle.  Feeding  the  elephants. 

These  palisades  were,  however,  not  close  to- 
gether. They  were  far  enough  apart  to  allow 
of  the  elephants  putting  their  trunks  through  to 
the  people  outside,  and  also  to  give  the  people  a 
good  opportunity  to  look.  Though  these  timbers 
were  thus  set  at  some  distance  apart  from  each 
other,  they  were  still  connected  together,  and  all 
held  firmly  in  their  places,  by  two  iron  rails  which 
passed  through  them  all,  one  near  the  top,  and 
the  other  near  the  bottom,  of  the  palisade,  all 
along  the  range.  They  thus  formed  a  fencing  so 
heavy  and  strong  that  even  the  elephants  could 
not  break  it  down. 

The  visitors  could  not  come  quite  up  to  the 
elephants  ;  for  outside  of  this  great  palisade,  at  a 
distance  of  about  three  feet  from  it,  there  was  a 
high  paling,  made  expressly  to  keep  the  spectators 
back.  At  the  time  when  Rollo  and  Carlos  came 
to  the  place  the  elephants  were  putting  their 
trunks  through  to  the  people,  in  order  to  be  fed 
with  nuts,  cake,  gingerbread,  and  other  such 
things  which  the  people  had  ready  to  give  them. 
Sometimes  they  would  order  the  elephants  to  hold 
up  their  trunks  and  open  their  mouths,  and  then 
the  men  would  try  to  toss  pieces  of  gingerbread 
f.n.  The  elephants  were  always  ready  to  do  this 
when  ordered,  though  their  mouths,  when  they 
opened  them,  were  so  small  that  the  people  very 


174  Rollo   in   Paris. 


The  visitors  in  the  Garden  of  Plants. 


seldom  succeeded  in  aiming  the  missile  so  that  it 
would  go  in. 

Hollo  and  Carlos  looked  about  among  the 
crowd  that  were  assembled  at  this  place  to  see  if 
Mr.  George  was  among  them ;  but  he  was  not ; 
and  so,  after  amusing  themselves  for  some  time 
with  the  elephants,  they  walked  along  to  see 
what  else  there  was  in  the  garden. 

There  were  a  great  many  people  in  the  garden 
besides  those  who  seemed  to  have  come  to  see 
the  animals.  There  were  groups  of  children, 
that  seemed  to  belong  in  the  vicinity,  playing  in 
the  walks,  some  jumping  ropes,  and  others  build- 
ing little  houses  of  gravel  stones.  There  were 
women  seated  on  benches  in  various  little  shady 
nooks  and  corners,  some  sewing,  others  taking 
care  of  babies  ;  while  others,  at  little  stands  and 
stalls,  sold  gingerbread  and  cakes.  At  one  place 
Rollo  stopped  to  look  at  two  little  children  that 
were  playing  in  the  gravel  and  throwing  the 
little  pebble  stones  about.  Their  grandmother, 
who  was  sitting  near,  said  something  to  them  in 
French. 

"  What  does  she  say  ?  "  asked  Carlos. 

"  She  says,"  replied  Rollo,  "  you  must  not  thro  w 
gravel  in  your  little  sister's  face." 

The  question  in  this  case  and  the  answer  fitted 
each  other  very  well ;  but  it  was  a  mere  matter 


The  Garden  of  Plants.        175 

The  bear  dens.  Little  birds  feeding  with  the  bears. 

of  accident,  for  neither  of  the  boys  understood 
what  the  other  had  said. 

Pretty  soon  the  boys  came  to  a  place  where  a 
great  number  of  people  were  standing  on  a  sort 
of  parapet,  and  leaning  upon  an  iron  railing, 
where  they  seemed  to  be  looking  down  into  some 
cavity.  They  hurried  to  the  place,  and,  stepping 
up  upon  the  parapet,  they  looked  down  too,  and 
found  there  a  range  of  dens  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  all  full  of  bears.  These  dens  were 
sunken  yards,  six  or  eight  feet  deep,  and  enclosed 
with  perpendicular  walls  all  around,  so  that  the 
bears  could  not  possibly  get  out.  There  were  iron 
railings  around  the  top,  and  a  great  many  people 
were  standing  there  looking  down  to  the  bears. 
There  were  four  or  five  of  these  yards,  all  in 
a  row ;  and  as  there  were  many  great  trees 
overshadowing  them,  the  place  was  cool  and 
pleasant.  Some  of  the  bears  were  walking  about 
on  the  stone  pavement  which  formed  the  bottom 
of  the  dens  ;  others  were  sitting  on  their  hind 
legs,  and  holding  up  their  fore  paws  to  catch  the 
pieces  of  gingerbread  which  were  thrown  down 
to  them  by  the  people  above.  There  were  a 
number  of  little  birds  hopping  about  there,  pick- 
ing up  the  crums  that  were  left,  though  they 
took  care  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  bears. 
Roilo  and  Carlos  bought  some  cakes  of  ginger' 


176  Rollo  in   Paris. 

Feeding  the  bears  with  gingerbread.  The  monkeys'  palace. 

bread  of  a  woman  who  kept  a  stall  near  by,  and, 
breaking  them  into  pieces,  they  threw  them 
down  to  the  bears.  They  threw  the  most  to  a 
great  white  bear  that  was  in  one  of  the  dens, 
and  who  particularly  attracted  their  attention. 
Hollo  told  Carlos  that  he  supposed  this  bear 
must  have  come  from  the  north  pole.  The  boys 
were  both  by  this  time  rather  hungry  ;  but  they 
were  so  much  interested  in  seeing  the  bears  try 
to  catch  the  pieces  of  gingerbread  that  they  did 
not  think  to  eat  any  of  it  themselves,  but  threw 
it  all  down  to  them,  all  except  one  piece  which 
Rollo  gave  to  a  little  girl  who  stood  beside  him. 
to  let  her  throw  it,  because  she  had  none  of  her 
own.  For  this  kindness  the  girl  thanked  Rollo, 
in  French,  in  a  very  polite  and  proper  manner. 

After  being  satisfied  with  seeing  the  bears,  the 
boys  wandered  on  wherever  they  saw  the  most 
to  attract  them,  until  at  length  they  came  to 
what  is  called  the  palace  of  the  monkeys,  which 
pleased  them  more  than  any  thing  they  had  seen. 
This  palace  is  an  enormous  round  cage,  as  high 
as  a  house,  and  nearly  a  hundred  feet  in  diame- 
ter, with  a  range  of  stone  buildings  all  around  it 
on  the  back  side.  These  buildings  have  little 
rooms  in  them,  where  the  monkeys  live  in  the 
winter,  and  where  they  always  sleep  at  night. 
They  go  out  into  the  cage  to  play.     The  cage  it\ 


The   Garden   of  Plants.        177 

Tho  antics  o    the  monkeys.  Resting. 

formed  of  slender  iron  posts  and  railing,  so  that 
the  people  standing  outside  can  see  the  monkeys 
at  their  sports  and  gambols.  They  play  with 
each  other  in  every  possible  way,  and  frolic  just 
as  if  they  were  in  their  native  woods.  They 
climb  up  the  smooth  iron  posts,  pursuing  one 
another  ;  and  then,  leaping  across  through  the  air 
they  catch  upon  a  rope,  from  which  they  swinf 
themselves  across  to  the  branch  of  a  tree.  Somo 
of  these  branches  have  bells  attached  to  them  ; 
and  the  monkey,  when  he  gets  upon  such  a  one, 
will  spring  it  up  and  down  till  he  sets  the  bell  to 
ringing,  and  then,  assisted  by  the  return  of  the 
branch,  he  bounds  away  through  the  air  to  some 
rope,  or  pole,  or  railing  that  he  sees  within  his 
reach.  The  agility  which  these  animals  display 
in  these  feats  is  truly  astonishing. 

Rollo  and  Carlos  watched  their  evolutions 
with  great  interest.  There  was  an  excellent 
place  to  see,  for  the  land  opposite  the  cage  as- 
cended in  such  a  manner  that  those  more  remote 
could  look  over  the  heads  of  those  that  were 
nearer.  Besides  this,  there  were  quite  a  number 
of  chairs  under  the  trees,  at  the  upper  part  of 
this  ascent ;  and  Rollo,  perceiving  that  several  of 
them  were  vacant,  sat  down  in  one,  and  made  a 
sign  to  Carlos  to  sit  down  in  another.  They 
could  now  look  at  \he  monkeys,  and  rest  at  the 


178  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Paying  for  a  seat.  The  refreshment  tables  under  the  trees. 

Bame  time.  Presently  a  woman  came  along  and 
said  to  Rollo,  in  French, — 

"  Please  pay  the  chairs,  sir." 

Rollo  recollected  immediately  that  at  all  such 
places  in  Paris  chairs  were  kept  to  be  let,  those 
who  used  them  paying  two  sous  apiece  for  the 
privilege.  So  he  took  out  four  sous  and  gave 
the  woman. 

"I  did  not  think  of  there  being  any  thing  to 
pay  for  these  chairs,"  said  he  to  Carlos.  "  But 
then,  I  don't  care.  It  is  worth  four  sous  to  get 
a  good  rest,  as  tired  as  I  am.  I'm  pretty  hungry, 
too.  I  wish  I  had  not  given  all  my  gingerbread 
to  the  bears." 

Carlos  made  no  reply  to  this  suggestion ; 
though  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  have 
readily  assented  to  what  Rollo  said,  if  he  had  un- 
derstood it.  The  boys  remained  some  time  look- 
ing at  the  monkeys,  and  then  strolled  away  into 
other  parts  of  the  garden.  Very  soon  they  came 
to  a  place  where  Rollo  spied  at  some  distance 
before  him,  under  some  immense  old  trees  in  a 
sort  of  a  valley,  what  he  thought  was  a  restau- 
rant. 

"  See  these  monstrous  big  trees !  "  said  Carlos  ; 
*  and  there  are  tables  under  them." 

The  boys  made  all  haste  to  the  spot,  and  found 
to  their  great  joy  that  it  was  a  restaurant.     There 


The   Garden  of  Plants.       179 


The  restaurant  in  the  Garden  of  Plants. 


was  a  plain  but  very  picturesque-looking  house, 
antique  ami  venerable  ;  and  before  it,  on  a  green, 
under  the  spreading  branches  of  some  enormous 
old  trees,  a  number  of  small  tables,  with  seats 
around  them. 

"  Now,  Carlos,"  said  Rollo,  "  we  will  have  some 
bread  and  butter  and  a  good  cup  of  coffee." 


THE    RESTAURANT. 

So   they  sat  down  at  one  of  the  pleasantest 

tables,  and  very  soon  a  waiter  came  to  see  what 

they  would  have.     Rollo  called   for  coffee  and 

bread  and  butter  for  two.     In  a  short  time  the 

L 


180  Rollo   in   Paris, 


"  Bread  at  discretion."  Where  Mr.  George  and  Jennie  were. 

waiter  came,  bringing  two  great  cups,  which  he 
filled  half  with  coffee  and  half  with  boiled  milk, 
.  He  brought  also  a  supply  of  very  nice  butter, 
and  a  loaf  of  bread  shaped  like  a  stick  of  wood. 
It  was  about  as  large  round  as  Rollo's  arm,  and 
twice  as  long.  The  waiter  laid  this  bread  across 
the  table  for  Rollo  and  Carlos  to  cut  off  as  much 
from  it  as  they  might  want.  This  is  what  they 
call  having  "  bread  at  discretion." 

The  boys  enjoyed  this  banquet  very  much 
indeed.  Besides  the  coffee,  they  had  water, 
which  they  sweetened  in  the  tumblers  with  large 
lumps  of  white  sugar.  They  talked  all  the  time 
while  they  were  eating,  each  in  his  own  language, 
and  laughed  very  merrily.  "  After  all,"  said 
Rollo,  "  this  is  the  very  best  place  in  the  whole 
garden.  Feeding  the  bears  is  very  good  fun  ; 
but  this  is  infinitely  better." 

After  remaining  for  half  an  hour  at  the  table, 
and  eating  till  their  appetites  were  completely 
satisfied,  they  concluded  to  go  back  and  see  the 
monkeys  again. 

In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  George  and  his  friend, 
with  Jennie,  had  been  engaged  in  an  entirely 
different  part  of  the  garden ;  for  the  whole  en- 
closure is  so  large  that  it  takes  many  days  to 
Bee  the  whole.  On  one  side,  bordering  on  a 
street,  there  is  a  long  row  of  houses  and  gar- 


The   Garden  op  Plants.        181 

Lectures.  Museum.  How  to  find  the  boys  at  a  mei.agerie. 

dens,  occupied  by  professors,  who  give  courses 
of  lectures  on  the  plants  and  animals  which  the 
garden  contains.  On  another  is  a  magnificent 
range  of  buildings,  occupied  as  a  museum,  con- 
taining endless  collections  of  dried  plants,  of 
minerals  and  shells,  of  skeletons,  and  the  stuffed 
skins  of  birds  and  beasts.  Then  there  is  a  very 
large  tract  of  level  land,  between  two  splendid 
avenues,  all  laid  out  in  beds  of  plants  and  flowers, 
forming  a  series  of  parterres,  extending  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  and  presenting  the  gayest 
and  most  beautiful  combination  of  colors  that 
can  be  conceived.  Jennie  was  very  much  de- 
lighted with  all  these  things,  as  she  walked 
about  in  these  parts  of  the  garden  with  her 
uncle,  though  she  was  somewhat  uneasy  all  the 
time  because  she  could  not  see  any  thing  of 
Rollo. 

"  I  don't  believe,"  said  she  at  last  to  her  uncle, 
as  they  were  standing  on  the  margin  of  a  beauti- 
ful little  artificial  pond,  full  of  lilies  and  other 
aquatic  plants,  "  I  don't  believe  that  we  can  find 
him  at  all  in  such  a  large  garden." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  there'll  be  no  diffi- 
culty. There  is  one  universal  rule  for  finding 
boys  in  the  Gar.den  of  Plants." 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Go  to  the  places  where  they  keep  the  monkeys 


182  Rollo  in  Paris. 

The  two  parties  meet  at  the  palace  of  the  monkeys. 

and  the  elephants,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  and  if 
you  don't  find  them  there  at  once,  wait  a  few 
minutes,  and  they'll  be  pretty  sure  to  come." 

It  was  as  Mr.  George  had  predicted  ;  for,  on 
going  to  the  palace  of  the  monkeys,  there  they 
found  Rollo  and  Carlos  laughing  very  heartily 
to  see  a  big  monkey  holding  a  little  one  in  its 
arms  as  a  human  mother  would  a  baby. 

The  party,  when  thus  united,  went  together 
once  more  over  the  principal  places  where  the 
two  divisions  of  it  had  gone  separately  before, 
so  that  all  might  have  a  general  idea  of  the 
whole  domain  ;  and  then,  going  out  at  a  different 
gate  from  the  one  by  which  they  had  entered, 
they  went  home,  all  resolving  to  come  again,  if 
possible,  at  some  future  day. 


An  Excursion.  183 

Rollo's  request  His  mother's  assent. 


c  h apter  ix. 
An  Excursion. 

One  day,  about  one  o'clock,  after  Rollo  had 
been  in  Paris  about  a  fortnight,  he  came  into  the 
hotel  from  a  walk  which  he  had  been  taking,  and 
there  found  his  mother  and  Jennie  putting  on 
their  bonnets.  He  asked  them  where  they  were 
going.  They  said  they  were  going  to  take  a 
ride  with  Mr.  George. 

"  May  I  go,  too  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"Why  —  yes,"  said  his  mother,  hesitatingly. 
"I  suppose  there  will  be  room.  Or  you  may 
stay  at  home  here  with  your  father.  He  is 
asleep  in  his  room." 

It  is  generally  the  case  with  children,  both 
boys  and  girls,  when  they  are  young,  that  if  they 
can  get  any  sort  of  consent,  however  reluctant, 
from  their  parents,  to  any  of  their  requests,  they 
are  satisfied,  and  take  the  boon  thus  hesitatingly 
accorded  to  them  as  readily  as  if  it  had  been 
granted  to  them  in  the  freest  and  most  cordial 
manner.     With  gentlemen  and  ladies,  however 


184  Rollo   in   Paris. 

It  is  not  generally  delicate  to  accept  a  reluctant  favor. 

it  is  different.  They  generally  have  more  deli- 
cacy, and  are  seldom  willing  to  accept  of  any 
favor  unless  circumstances  are  such  that  it  can 
be  granted  in  a  very  free  and  cordial  manner. 
They  will  scarcely  ever,  in  any  case,  ask  to  be 
permitted  to  join  any  party  that  others  have 
formed  ;  and  when  they  do  ask,  if  they  perceive 
the  slightest  doubt  or  hesitation  on  the  part  of 
their  friends  in  acceding  to  their  proposal,  they 
infer  that  it  would  be,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
inconvenient  for  them  to  go ;  and  they  accord- 
ingly, at  once,  give  up  all  intention  of  going. 

Rollo,  though  still  a  boy,  was  beginning  to 
have  some  of  the  honorable  sentiments  and  feel- 
ings of  a  man  ;  and  when  he  perceived  that  his 
mother  hesitated  a  little  about  granting  his 
request,  he  decided  immediately  not  to  go  and 
ride.  Besides,  he  liked  the  idea  of  staying  with 
his  father. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "  I  will  stay  here.  My  father 
may  wish  for  something  when  he  wakes  up." 

"I  don't  suppose,  however,  after  all,"  added 
his  mother,  "  that  it  is  really  necessary  for  you  to 
stay  on  his  account.  His  bell  is  within  reach  ; 
and  Alfred  will  come  immediately  when  he  rings." 

"  But  I  should  like  to  stay,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  and 
besides,  I  can  get  ahead  one  more  day  in  my 
French.''' 


An   Excursion.  185 

Rollo  improves  his  time  in  learning  a  French  lesson. 

Rollo  was  writing  a  course  of  French  exer- 
cises, and  Lis  task  was  one  lesson  for  every  day. 
The  rule  was,  that  he  was  to  write  this  exercise 
immediately  after  breakfast,  unless  he  had  written 
it  before  ;  that  is,  either  on  the  same  day  before 
breakfast,  or  on  a  previous  day.  Now,  Rollo 
desired  to  be  free  after  breakfast,  for  that  was  a 
very  pleasant  time  to  go  out.  Besides,  there 
were  often  plans  and  excursions  formed  for  that 
time,  which  he  was  invited  to  join  ;  and  he  could 
not  join  them  unless  his  lesson  for  the  day  had 
beon  written.  So  he  took  pains  to  write  his  ex- 
ercises, as  much  as  possible,  in  advance.  When- 
ever there  came  a  rainy  day  he  would  write  two 
or  three  lessons,  and  sometimes  he  would  write 
early  in  the  morning.  He  was  now  nearly  a 
week  in  advance.  Instead  of  being  satisfied 
with  this,  however,  he  began  to  be  quite  inter- 
ested in  seeing  how  far  ahead  he  could  get. 
This  feeling  was  what  led  him  to  think  that  he 
would  take  this  opportunity  to  write  a  French 
lesson. 

Accordingly,  when  his  mother  and  Jennie  had 
gone,  he  seated  himself  at  his  table  and  began 
his  work.  The  writing  of  the  exercise  took 
about  an  hour.  When  the  work  was  finished, 
and  while  Rollo  was  preparing  to  put  his  books 
o.way,  he  heard  a  movement  in  his  father's  room. 


186  Eollo  in  Paris. 

Mr.  Holiday  awakes.  Being  forehanded. 

He  got  up  from  his  seat  and  opened  the  door 
gently,  saying,  — 

"  Father,  are  you  awake  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  his  father.  "Are  you  there, 
Rollo  ?  " 

Rollo  found  his  father  sitting  up  in  a  great 
arm  chair,  by  the  side  of  his  bed.  He  had  a 
dressing  gown  on. 

"  How  do  you  feel,  father  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  I  think  I  feel  better,"  said  Mr.  Holiday.  As 
he  said  this  he  put  on  his  slippers,  and  then  stood 
up  upon  the  rug   that  lay  in  front  of  his  bed. 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "I  certainly  feel  better — a 
great  deal  better." 

"  I  am  very  glad,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Where  is  your  mother?  "  asked  Mr.  Holiday, 
as  he  walked  across  the  room  to  the  glass. 

"  She  has  gone  out  to  take  a  ride,"  said  Rollo, 
"with  uncle  George  and  Jennie." 

"  That's  right,"  said  Mr.  Holiday.  "  I  am  very 
glad  that  she  has  gone.  And  have  you  been 
staying  here  to  take  care  of  me  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  have  been  writing 
another  French  lesson.  I  have  got  them  all 
written  now  tc  next  Friday." 

"  Ah,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  that's  excellent. 
That's  what  the  farmers  call  being  forehanded." 

"  Now,  Rollo,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  after  a  little 


An  Excursion.'  187 

Rollo  chooses  an  excursion  for  his  father. 

pause,  "  I  feel  so  much  better  that  I  should  like 
to  go  somewhere  and  take  a  ride  myself.  I 
don't  care  much  where.  If  there  is  any  where 
that  you  wish  to  go,  I  will  go  with  you.  Come, 
I  will  put  myself  entirely  at  your  disposal.  Let 
ns  see  what  you  can  do  to  give  me  a  ride  and 
entertain  me." 

Rollo  was  very  much  pleased  indeed  with  this 
proposal.  He  decided  instantly  what  he  would 
do.  He  had  seen  that  morning  an  affix,  as  the 
French  call  it,  that  is,  a  placard  posted  on  a  wall 
among  a  hundred  others,  setting  forth  that  there 
was  to  be  a  balloon  ascension  that  afternoon  at 
the  Hippodrome,  at  three  o'clock,  to  be  followed 
by  various  equestrian  performances.  Rollo  im- 
mediately mentioned  this  to  his  father,  and  asked 
him  if  he  should  be  willing  to  go  there.  His 
father  said  that  he  should  ;  adding,  that  he  would 
like  to  see  the  balloon  go  up  very  much. 

"  Then  when  we  come  home,"  said  Rollo,  "  you 
must  ride  slowly  along  through  the  Elysian 
Fields,  and  let  me  see  the  booths,  and  the  games 
that  they  are  playing  there." 

"  Very  well,"  said  his  father  ;  "  I  will  take  some 
newspapers  with  me,  and  I  will  sit  still  in  the 
carriage  while  you  go  and  see  the  booths  and 
the  games." 

This  plan  being  thus  resolved  upon,  and  all 


188  Rollo   in    Paris. 

Balloon  ascension  from  the  Hippodrome. 

arranged,  Alfred  was  summoned  and  ordered  tc 
get  the  carriage  ready,  and  to  put  the  top  down. 
When  Alfred  reported  that  the  carriage  was 
at  the  door,  Mr.  Holiday  and  Rollo  went  down 
and  got  in,  and  were  soon  in  the  midst  of  the 
stream  of  equipages  that  were  going  up  the 
grand  avenue  of  the  Elysian  Fields.  They  ar- 
rived at  the  Hippodrome  in  time  to  get  an  ex- 
cellent seat,  and  they  remained  there  two  hours. 
They  saw  the  balloon,  with  a  man  and  young 
girl  in  the  car  below  it,  rise  majestically  into 
the  air,  and  soar  away  until  it  was  out  of  sight. 
The  fearless  aeronauts  seemed  entirely  at  their 
case  while  they  were  ascending  to  the  dizzy 
height.  They  sat  in  the  car  waving  banners  and 
throwing  down  bouquets  of  flowers  as  long  as 
they  could  be  seen. 

After  this  there  was  a  series  of  performances 
with  horses,  which  delighted  Rollo  very  much. 
Troops  of  men  came  out  upon  the  arena,  mounted 
on  beautiful  chargers,  and  armed  with  lances 
and  coats  of  mail,  as  in  ancient  times.  After 
riding  their  elegantly  caparisoned  horses  round 
and  round  the  ring  several  times,  they  formed 
into  squadrons  and  attacked  each  other  with 
their  lances  in  sham  battles.  After  this,  fencea 
of  hurdles  were  put  up  across  the  course,  in 
various  places,  and  girls,  mounted  on  beautiful 


An  Excursion.  189 

Rollo's  directions  to  the  coachman. 

white  horses  and  elegantly  dressed,  rode  around, 
leaping  over  the  fences  in  a  surprising  manner. 
These  and  similar  performances  continued  until 
near  five  o'clock,  and  then  the  immense  assembly 
broke  up,  and  the  people,  some  in  carriages  and 
some  on  foot,  moved  away  over  the  various  roads 
and  avenues  which  diverge  from  the  Star. 

Rollo  and  his  father  got  into  their  carriage, 
which  had  been  waiting  for  them  all  this  time, 
and  passing  the  Triumphal  Arch,  they  entered  the 
Grand  Avenue  of  the  Elysian  Fields,  on  their 
return  -to  the  city. 

They  descended  the  slope  which  led  down  to 
the  Round  Point  at  a  rapid  rate.  Here,  after 
passing  the  Round  Point,  the  road  became  level, 
and  the  region  of  groves  and  booths,  and  of 
games  and  frolicking,  began. 

"  Now,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  should  like  to  drive 
slowly,  so  that,  if  I  come  to  any  thing  that  I 
wish  to  get  out  and  see,  I  can  see  it." 

"  Very  well,"  said  his  father  ;  "  give  Alfred 
your  orders." 

"  Alfred,"  said  Rollo,  "  draw  up  as  near  as  you 
can  to  the  sidewalk  on  the  right  hand,  and  walk 
the  horses,  so  that  I  can  see  what  there  is." 

"  And  in  the  mean  time,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  I 
will  read  my  papers." 

So  Mr.  Holiday  took  his  newspapers  out  of 


190  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Going  fur  Carlos.  The  Boulevards. 

his  pocket  and  began  to  read  them,  while  Rollo. 
standing  up  in  the  carriage,  began  to  survey  the 
crowd  that  filled  the  walks  and  groves  that 
bordered  the  avenue,  in  order  to  select  some 
object  of  attraction  to  be  examined  more  closely. 

"  Only  I  wish,  father,"  said  Rollo,  "  that  I  had 
somebody  here  with  me  to  go  and  see  the 
things  —  Jennie  or  Carlos.  I  wish  Carlos  was 
here." 

"  It  is  very  easy  to  go  and  get  him,"  said  his 
father,  with  his  eyes  still  on  his  newspaper. 

"  May  I  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  Any  thing  you  please,"  said  Mr.  Holiday. 
"You  are  in  command  this  afternoon.  You  may 
give  Alfred  any  orders  you  please." 

"Then,  Alfred,"  said  Rollo,  "drive  to  the 
Hotel  Louvois  as  fast  as  you  can." 

As  he  said  this,  Mr.  Holiday  folded  up  his 
paper  and  Rollo  took  his  seat,  while  Alfred,  turn- 
ing the  horses  away  from  the  sidewalk,  set  them 
to  trotting  briskly  along  the  avenue. 

"Only,  father,"  said  Rollo,  "I  shall  prevent 
your  reading  your  papers." 

"  No  matter  for  that,"  said  Mr.  Holiday.  "  I 
shall  like  a  good  brisk  ride  along  the  Boulevards 
quite  as  well."  • 

The  horses,  kept  always  by  Alfred  in  the  very 
best  condition,  trotted  forward  at  a  rapid  rate, 


An    Excursion.  191 

Rollo  and  his  father  meet  the  carriage  of  the  emperor. 

leaving  scores  of  omnibuses,  cabs,  and  citadines 
behind,  and  keeping  pace  with  the  splendid 
chariots  of  the  French  and  English  aristocracy 
that  thronged  the  avenue.  Presently  Rollo  ob- 
served a  peculiar  movement  among  the  carriages 
before  them,  as  if  they  were  making  way  for 
something  that  was  coming  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  he  saw  hundreds  of  people  running  for- 
ward from  the  groves  and  booths,  across  the 
side  avenues,  to  the  margin  of  the  carriage 
way. 

"  The  "emperor  !  "  said  Alfred,  drawing  in  his 
horses  at  the  same  time. 

An  instant  afterward,  Rollo,  who,  on  hearing 
Alfred's  words,  started  from  his  seat  and  stood 
up  in  the  carriage  to  look,  saw  two  elegantly 
dressed  officers,  in  splendid  uniforms,  galloping 
along  toward  them  in  the  middle  of  the  avenue. 
They  were  followed  at  a  little  distance  by  two 
others  ;  and  then  came  a  very  beautiful  barouche, 
drawn  by  four  glossy  black  horses,  magnificently 
caparisoned.  Two  gentlemen  were  seated  in 
this  carriage,  one  of  whom  bowed  repeatedly  to 
the  crowd  that  were  gazing  at  the  spectacle  from 
the  sides  of  the  avenue  as  he  rode  rapidly  along. 
Behind  this  carriage  came  another,  with  a  gentle- 
man and  a  lady  in  it,  and  afterward  two  more 
troopers.     The  whole  cavalcade   moved   on   so 


192  Rollo   in  Paris. 

The  emperor's  horses.  What  Rollo  saw  on  the  way. 

rapidly,  that,  before  Rollo  had  had  scarcely 
time  to  look  at  it,  it  had  passed  entirely  by. 

"  The  emperor !  "  said  Alfred  to  Rollo.  "  He 
in  going  out  to  take  a  ride." 

"Is  that  the  emperor?"  exclaimed  Rollo. 
"  He  looks  like  any  common  man.  But  if  I  had 
four  such  beautiful  black  horses  as  he  has  got,  I 
should  be  glad.  I  would  drive  them  myself, 
instead  of  having  a  coachman." 

The  movement  and  the  sensation  produced 
by  the  passing  of  the  emperor  and  his  train 
along  the  avenue  immediately  subsided,  and  the 
other  carriages  resumed-  their  ordinary  course. 
Alfred's  horses  trotted  on  faster  than  ever.  A 
thousand  picturesque  and  striking  objects  glided 
rapidly  by  —  the  trees  and  the  booths  of  the 
Elysian  Fields  ;  the  tall,  gilded  lampposts,  and 
the  spouting  fountains  of  the  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde ;  omnibuses,  cabs,  wagons,  chariots,  and 
foot  passengers  without  number  ;  and,  finally, 
the  tall  column  of  the  Place  Vendome.  Wind- 
ing round  in  a  graceful  curve  through  this  mag- 
nificent square,  the  carriage  rolled  on  in  the 
direction  of  the  Boulevards,  and,  after  going 
rapidly  on  for  nearly  half  a  mile  in  that  spacious 
avenue,  it  turned  into  the  street  which  led  to  the 
hotel.  It  stopped,  at  length,  before  the  door, 
and  Rollo  got  out,  while  Mr.  Holiday  remained 


An   Excursion.  193 

Itollo  invites  Carlos  and  Mr.  George  to  join  them. 

in  the  carriage.  Rollo  went  up  stairs,  and  after 
about  five  minutes  he  came  down  again,  bringing 
not  only  Carlos  with  him,  but  also  his  uncle 
George.  Mr.  Holiday  invited  Mr.  George  to  go 
with  them  for  the  remainder  of  the  ride.  This 
invitation  Mr.  George  accepted  ;  and  so  the  two 
gentlemen  taking  the  back  seat,  and  Rollo  and 
Carlos  the  front,  Alfred  took  them  all  back  to  the 
Elysian  Fields  together. 

They  remained  nearly  an  hour  iu  the  Elysian 
Fields.  During  this  time  Rollo's  father  and  his 
uncle  George  staid  in  the  carriage  by  the  road- 
side, talking  together,  while  Rollo  and  Carlos 
went  in  among  the  walks  and  groves  to  see 
the  various  spectacles  which  were  exhibited 
there.  They  would  come  back  from  time  to  time 
to  the  carriage,  in  order  that  Rollo  might  de- 
scribe to  his  father  what  they  found,  or  ask  per- 
mission to  take  part  in  some  amusement.  For 
instance,  at  one  time  he  came  and  said,  very 
eagerly,  — 

"  Father,  here  is  a  great  whirling  machine, 
with  ships  and  horses  going  round  and  round. 
Carlos  and  I  want  to  ride  on  it.  The  horses  are 
in  pairs,  two  together.  Carlos  can  get  on  one 
of  them,  in  one  of  the  pairs,  and  I  on  the  other. 
We  can  go  round  twenty  times  for  two  sous." 

"Very  well,"  said  his  father. 


194  Rollo   in  Paris. 

A  ride  upon  the  whirling  machine. 

So  Rollo  and  Carlos  went  back  to  the  whirling 
machine.  It  was  very  large,  and  was  very  gayly 
painted,  and  ornamented  with  flags  and  banners. 
The  vessels  and  the  horses  were  attached  to  the 
ends  of  long  arms,  which  were  supported  by  iron 
rods  that  came  down  from  the  top  of  the  central 
post,  so  that  they  were  very  strong.  The  horses 
were  as  large  as  small  ponies,  and  the  vessels 
were  as  big  as  little  boats — each  one  having 
seats  for  four  children.  When  Rollo  and  Carlos 
went  back,  the  machine  had  just  taken  up  its 
complement  of  passengers  for  one  turn,  and  was 
then  commencing  its  rotation.  There  were  a 
great  many  persons  standing  by  it,  pleased  to 
see  how  happy  the  children  were  in  going 
round  so  merrily.  There  was  an  iron  paling  all 
around  the  machine,  to  keep  the  spectators  at  a 
safe  distance,  otherwise  they  might  come  too 
near,  and  so  be  struck,  and  perhaps  seriously 
hurt,  by  the  hort,es  or  the  boats,  when  they  were 
put  in  motion. 

As  soon  as  the  twenty  turns  had  been  taken 
the  machine  stopped,  and  the  children  who  had 
had  their  ride  were  taken  off  the  horses  and 
out  of  the  boats,  all  except  a  few  who  were 
going  to  pay  again  and  have  a  second  ride. 
Rollo  and  Carlos  then  went  inside  the  enclosure, 
and,  going  up  some  bteps  placed  there  for  the 


An  Excursion.  195 

Another  whirling  machine. 

purpose,  they  mounted  their  horses.  Very  soon 
the  machine  began  to  revolve,  and  they  were 
whirled  round  and  round  twenty  times  with  the 
greatest  rapidity.  The  arms  of  the  machine, 
too,  were  long,  so  that  the  circle  which  the 
horses  and  the  vessels  described  was  quite  large, 
and  the  whole  twenty  revolutions  made  quite  a 
considerable  ride. 

After  finishing  their  circuit  and  dismounting 
from  their  horses,  the  boys  next  came  to  a  whirl- 
ing machine,  which  revolved  vertically  instead 
of  horizontally ;  that  is,  instead  of  whirling  the 
rider  round  and  round  near  the  level  of  the 
ground,  it  carried  them  up,  over,  and  down. 
There  was  a  great  wheel,  which  revolved  on  an 
axis,  like  a  vertical  mill  wheel.  This  wheel  was 
double,  and  between  the  two  circumferences  the 
seats  of  the  passengers  were  hung  in  such  a 
manner  that  in  revolving  they  swung  freely, 
so  as  to  keep  the  heads  of  the  people  always 
uppermost.  These  seats  had  high  backs  and 
sides,  and  a  sort  of  bar  in  front  for  the  people  to 
take  hold  of,  otherwise  there  would  have  been 
great  danger  of  their  falling  out.  As  it  was, 
they  were  carried  so  swiftly,  and  so  high,  and 
the  seats  swung  to  and  fro  so  violently  when  the 
machine  was  in  rapid  motion,  that  the  men  and 
girls  who  were  in  the  seats  filled  the  ear  with 
their  screams  and  shouts  of  laughter. 

M 


196  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  various  sights  which  Rollo  met  in  the  Elysian  Fields. 

Rollo  and  Carlos,  after  seeing  this  machine  re- 
volve, went  to  the  carriage  to  ask  if  they  might 
go  in  it  the  next  time. 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Holiday.  "  I  am  not  sure  that 
it  is  safe." 

So  the  boys  went  away  from  the  carriage  back 
under  the  trees  again,  and  walked  along  to  see 
what  the  next  exhibition  might  be.  The  car- 
riage moved  on  in  the  avenue  a  little  way  to 
keep  up  with  them. 

The  boys  strolled  along  through  the  crowd  a 
little  while  longer,  looking  for  a  moment,  as  they 
passed,  now  at  the  stalls  for  selling  gingerbread 
and  cakes,  now  at  a  display  of  pictures  on  a 
long  line,  —  the  sheets  being  fastened  to  the  line 
by  pins,  like  clothes  upon  a  clothes  line, —  now 
at  a  company  of  singers,  singing  upon  a  stage 
under  a  canopy,  and  now  again  at  a  little  boy, 
about  seven  or  eight  years  old,  who  was  tum- 
bling head  over  heels  on  a  little  carpet  which 
he  had  spread  on  the  ground,  and  then  carrying 
round  his  cap  to  the  bystanders,  in  hopes  that 
some  of  them  would  give  him  a  sou.  At  length 
their  attention  was  attracted  by  some  large  boys, 
who  were  engaged  at  a  stand  at  a  little  distance 
in  shooting  at  a  mark  with  what  seemed  to  bo 
email  guns.  These  guns,  however,  discharged 
themselves  by  means  of  a  spring  coiled  up  within 


An  E  xcursion. 


197 


Children  shooting  at  a  mark. 


the  barrel,  instead  of  gunpowder ;  and  the 
bullets  which  they  shot  were  peas.  Rollo 
had  seen  these  shooting-places  before,  when  he 
went  through  the  Fields  on  the  first  Sunday  after 
he  came  ;  so  he  did  not  stop  long  here,  but  called 
Carlos's    attention    to   something;   that   he   had 


SINGING   IN  THE   OPEN   AIR. 

never  seen  before,  which  was  going  on  at  a  place 
a  little  under  a  tree,  a  little  farther  along.  A 
large  boy  seemed  to  be  pitching  quoits.  There 
were  a  number  of  persons  around  him  looking 
on.     There  was  a  sort  of  box  placed  near  the 


198  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  game  of  tossing  disks.  The  prizes, 

tree,  the  bottom  of  which  was  about  two  feet 
pquare.  It  had  a  back  next  the  tree,  and  two 
sides,  but  it  had  no  front  or  top.  In  fact,  it  was 
almost  precisely  like  a  wheelbarrow  without  any 
wheel,  legs,  or  handles. 

The  bottom  or  floor  of  this  box  had  a  great 
many  round  and  flat  plates  of  brass  upon  it, 
about  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  about  four 
inches  apart  from  each  other.  The  player  had 
ten  other  plates  in  his  hand,  of  the  same  size 
with  those  which  were  upon  the  bottom  of  the 
plate.  He  took  these,  one  by  one,  and  standing 
back  at  a  certain  distance,  perhaps  about  as  far 
as  one  good  long  pace,  pitched  them,  as  boys  do 
quoits,  in  upon  the  floor  of  the  box.  What  he 
tried  to  do  was,  to  cover  up  one  of  the  disks  in 
the  box  so  that  no  part  of  it  could  be  seen.  If 
he  did  so  he  was  to  have  a  prize ;  and  he  paid 
two  sous  for  the  privilege  of  playing.  The 
prizes  consisted  of  little  articles  of  porcelain, 
bronzes,  cheap  jewelry,  images,  and  other  similar 
things,  which  were  all  placed  conspicuously  on 
shelves  against  the  tree,  above  the  box,  in  view 
of  the  player. 

It  seemed  to  the  bystanders  as  if  it  would  be 
not  at  all  difficult  to  toss  the  disks  so  as  with  ten 
to  cover  one  ;  but  those  who  tried  seemed  to 
find  it  very  difficult  to   accomplish    the   object. 


An    Excursion.  199 

Is  it  gaming  to  play  for  the  hope  of  a  prize  ? 

Even  if  the  disks  which  they  tossed  fell  in  the 
right  place,  they  would  rebound  or  slide  away, 
and  sometimes  knock  away  those  which  were 
already  well  placed.  Still,  after  trying  once,  the 
players  were  usually  unwilling  to  give  up  with- 
out trying  a  second,  and  even  a  third  and  fourth 
time,  so  that  they  generally  lost  six  or  eight  sous 
before  they  were  willing  to  stop  ;  especially  as 
the  man  himself  would  now  and  then  play  the 
disks,  and  he,  having  made  himself  skilful  by 
great  practice,  found  no  difficulty  in  piling  up 
his  ten  disks  wherever  he  wished  them  to  go. 

"I  could  do  it,  I  verily  believe,"  said  Rollo. 
"  I  should  like  to  try.  I  mean  to  go  and  ask  my 
father  if  I  may." 

So  Rollo  went  to  the  carriage  to  state  the 
case  to  his  father,  and  ask  his  permission  to  see 
if  he  could  not  pitch  the  disks  so  as  to  cover  one 
of  the  plates  on  the  board.     His  father  hesitated. 

"  So  far  as  trying  the  experiment  is  con- 
cerned," said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  as  a  matter  of  dex- 
terity and  skill,  there  is  no  harm  ;  but  so  far  as 
the  hope  of  getting  a  prize  by  it  is  concerned,  it 
is  of  the  nature  of  gaming." 

"  I  should  think  it  was  more  of  the  nature  of 
a  reward  for  merit  and  excellence,"  said  Mr. 
George. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Holiday  ;  "  for  in  one  or  two 


200  Rollo    in   Paris. 

Mr.  Holiday  gave  Ro'lo  permission  to  try  the  game. 

trials  made  by  chance  passengers  coming  along 
to  such  a  place,  the  result  must  depend  much 
more  on  chance  than  on  adroitness  or  skill. 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  you  may  do,  Rollo,"  con- 
tinued Mr.  Holiday.  "  You  may  pay  the  man 
the  two  sous  and  try  the  experiment,  provided 
you  determine  beforehand  not  to  take  any  prize 
if  you  succeed.  Then  you  will  pay  your  money 
simply  for  the  use  of  his  apparatus,  to  amuse 
yourself  with  a  gymnastic  performance,  and  not 
stake  it  in  hope  of  a  prize." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  that  is  all  I  want."  And 
off  he  ran. 

"It  seems  to  me  that  that  is  a  very  nice  distinc- 
tion that  you  made,"  said  Mr.  George,  as  soon  as 
Rollo  had  gone,  "  and  that  those  two  things  are 
very  near  the  line." 

"Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Holiday,  "it  is  a  nice 
distinction,  but  it  is  a  very  true  one.  The  two 
things  are  very  near  the  line  ;  but  then,  one  of 
them  is  clearly  on  one  side,  and  the  other  on  the 
other.  For  a  boy  to  pay  for  the  use  of  such  an 
apparatus  for  the  purpose  of  trying  his  eye  and 
his  hand  is  clearly  right ;  but  to  stake  his  money 
in  hopes  of  winning  a  prize  is  wrong,  for  it  is 
gaming.  It  is  gaming,  it  is  true,  in  this  case,  on 
an  exceedingly  small  scale.  Still  it  is  gaming, 
and  so  is  the  beginning  of  a  road  which  has  a 
very  dreadful  end.    Is  not  it  so  ?  " 


An   Excursion. 


201 


Rollo  and  Carlos  get  into  the  carriage  and  go  home. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "I  think  it  is." 

As  might  have  been  expected,  Rollo  did  not 
pucceed  in  covering  one  of  the  disks.  The  disks 
that  he  threw  spread  all  over  the  board.  Tho 
money  that  he  paid  was,  however,  well  spent,  for 
he  had  much  more  than  two  sous'  worth  of  satis- 
faction in  making  the  experiment. 

Rollo  found  a  great  many  other  things  to 
interest  him  in  the  various  stalls  and  stands  that 
he  visited  ;  but  at  length  he  got  tired  of  them  all, 
and,  coming  back  to  the  carriage,  told  his  father 
that  he  was  ready  to  go  home. 

"  Very  well,"  said  his  father.  "  I  don't  know 
but  that  your  uncle  George  and  I  are  ready,  too, 
though  we  have  not  quite  got  through  with  our 
papers.     But  we  can  finish  them  at  home." 

So  Rollo  and  Carlos  got  into  the  carriage,  and 
all  the  party  went  home  to  dinner. 


202  Rollo   in  Paris. 

KA\o  comes  home  from  an  excursion  with  Mr.  George. 


u  h after  x. 
Rollo's  Narrative. 

One  evening,  when  Rollo  had  been  making  a 
long  excursion  during  the  day  with  his  undo 
George,  and  had  dined  with  him,  at  the  close  of 
it,  at  a  restaurant's  in  the  Boulevards,  he  went 
home  about  eight  o'clock  to  the  hotel  to  see 
his  father  and  mother  and  Jennie,  and  tell  them 
where  he  had  been.  He  found  his  mother  in  her 
room  putting  on  her  bonnet.  She  said  she  was 
going  to  take  a  ride  along  the  Boulevards  with 
a  gentleman  and  lady  who  were  going  to  call 
for  her. 

"  And  where  is  father  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  He  has  gone  to  bed,  and  is  asleep  by  this 
time.     You  must  be  careful  not  to  disturb  him." 

"And  Jennie?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  She  has  gone  to  bed,  too,"  said  his  mother ; 
"  but  she  is  not  asleep,  and  I  presume  she  will  bo 
very  glad  to  see  you.     You  can  go  in  her  room." 

"  Well,  I  will,"  said  Rollo.     "  But,  mother,  I 


R  o  l  l  o '  s   Narrative.  203 


Mrs.  Holiday's  plan  for  Rollo  to  accompany  the  party. 

should  like  to  go  and  ride  with  you.  Will  there 
be  room  for  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  his  mother.  "  There  will  be  room, 
I  suppose,  in  the  carriage ;  but  it  would  not  be 
proper  for  me  to  take  you,  for  I  am  going  on  an 
invitation  from  others.  The  invitation  was  to 
me  alone,  and  I  have  no  right  to  extend  it  to 
any  body  else. 

"  But  this  you  can  do,  if  you  please,"  continued 
nis  mother.  "  You  can  take  our  carriage,  and  let 
Alfred  drive  you.  and  so  follow  along  after  our 
party.  Only  in  that  case  you  would  not  have 
any  company.  You  would  be  in  a  carriage 
alone." 

"  Never  mind  that,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  should  like 
that.  I  would  put  the  top  back,  and  then  I 
could  see  all  around.  I  should  have  a  grand 
ride.  I'll  go.  I  wish  Jennie  had  not  gone  to 
bed  ;  she  could  have  gone  with  me." 

"  No,"  replied  his  mother  ;  "  Jennie  is  not  well 
to-night.  She  has  got  cold,  and  she  went  to  bed 
early  on  that  account.  But  she  will  be  very 
glad  to  have  you  go  and  see  her." 

So  Rollo  went  into  Jennie's  room.  As  soon 
as  he  opened  the  door,  Jennie  pv.shed  aside  the 
curtains,  and  said,  — 

"  Ah,  Rollo,  is  that  you  ?  I  am  very  glad  that 
you  have  come." 


204  Rollo   in    Paris. 


Jennie's  lequest.  Rollo  decides  to  stay  at  home. 

"  I  can't  stay  but  a  little  while,"  said  Rollo 
"I  am  going  to  take  a  ride  with  mother." 

"Are  you  going  with  mother?"  asked  Jennie 

"  Not  in  the  carriage  with  her,"  replied  Rollo ; 
"  but  I  am  going  in  the  same  party.  I  am  going 
to  have  a  carriage  all  to  myself." 

"  0,  no,  Rollo,"  said  Jennie,  in  a  beseeching 
tone.  "  Don't  go  away.  Stay  here  with  me, 
please.  I  am  all  alone,  and  have  not  any  body 
to  amuse  me." 

"  But  you  will  go  to  sleep  pretty  soon,"  said 
Rollo. 

.  "No,"  replied  Jennie ;  "I  am  not  sleepy  the 
least  in  the  world.     See." 

Here  Jennie  opened  her  eyes  very  wide,  and 
looked  Rollo  full  in  the  face,  by  way  of  demon- 
strating that  she  was  not  sleepy. 

Rollo  felt  very  much  perplexed.  When  he 
pictured  to  himself,  in  imagination,  the  idea  of 
being  whirled  rapidly  through  the  Boulevards, 
on  such  a  pleasant  summer  evening,  in  a  carriage 
which  he  should  have  all  to  himself,  with  the  tup 
down  so  that  he  could  see  every  thing  all  around 
him,  and  of  the  brilliant  windows  of  the  shops, 
the  multitudes  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  taking 
their  coffee  at  the  little  round  tables  on  the  side- 
walk in  front  of  the  coffee  saloons,  the  crowds 
of  people  coming  and  going,  and  the  horsemen 


Rollo's    Narrative.  205 

Eollo  and  Jennie  amuse  themselves  looking  at  pictures. 

and  carriages  thronging  the  streets,  the  view 
was  so  enchanting  that  it  was  very  hard  for  him 
to  give  up  the  promised  pleasure.  He,  however, 
determined  to  do  it ;  so  he  said,  — 

"  Well,  Jennie,  I'll  stay.  I  will  go  out  and 
tell  mother  that  I  am  not  going  to  ride,  and  then 
I  will  come  back." 

For  the  first  half  hour  after  Mrs.  Holiday 
went  away,  Rollo  was  occupied  with  Jennie 
m  looking  over  some  very  pretty  French  picture 
books  which  Mrs.  Holiday  had  bought  for  her 
that  day,  to  amuse  her  because  she  was  sick. 
Jennie  had  looked  them  all  over  before  ;  but  now 
that  Rollo  had  come,  it  gave  her  pleasure  to  look 
them  over  again,  and  talk  about  them  with  him. 
Jennie  sat  up  in  the  bed,  leaning  back  against 
the  pillows  and  bolsters,  and  Rollo  sat  in  a  large 
and  very  comfortable  arm  chair,  which  he  had 
brought  up  for  this  purpose  to  the  bedside. 
The  books  lay  on  a  monstrous  square  pillow  of 
down,  half  as  large  as  the  bed  itself,  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  French  fashion,  is  always  placed 
on  the  top  of  the  bed.  Rollo  and  Jennie  would 
take  the  books,  one  at  a  time,  and  look  them 
over,  talking  about  the  pictures,  and  showing 
the  prettiest  ones  to  each  other.  Thus  the  time 
passed  very  pleasantly.  At  length,  however 
Jennie,  having  looked  over  all  the  books,  drew 


206  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Rollo  describes  the  workshops  of  Paris. 

nerself  down  into  the  bed,  and  began  to  ask 
Rollo  where  he  had  been  that  day. 

"  I  have  been  with  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo. 
"  He  said  that  he  was  going  about  to  see  a  great 
many  different  places,  and  that  I  might  go  with 
him  if  I  chose,  though  he  supposed  that  most  of 
them  were  places  that  I  should  not  care  to  sec. 
But  I  did.     I  liked  to  see  them  all." 

"  What  places  did  you  go  to  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Why,  first  we  went  to  see  the  workshops.  I 
did  not  know  before  that  there  were  so  many. 
Uncle  George  says  that  Paris  is  one  of  the 
greatest  manufacturing  places  in  the  world  ;  only 
they  make  things  by  hand,  in  private  shops,  and 
not  in  great  manufactories,  by  machinery.  Uncle 
George  says  there  must  be  as  much  as  eight  or  ten 
square  miles  of  these  shops  in  Paris.  They  are 
piled  up  to  six  or  eight  stories  high.  Some  of 
the  streets  look  like  ranges  of  chalky  cliffs  facing 
each  other,  such  as  we  see  at  some  places  on  the 
sea  shore." 

"  What  do  they  make  in  the  shops  ?  "  asked 
Jennie." 

"  0,  all  sorts  of  curious  and  beautiful  things. 
They  have  specimens  of  the  things  that  they 
make  up,  put  up,  like  pictures  in  a  frame,  in  little 
glass  cases,  on  the  wall  next  the  street.  Wo 
walked  along  through  several  streets  and  looked 


Rollo 's  Narrative.  207 

The  factory  of  artificial  flowers. 

at  these  specimens.  There  were  purses,  and 
fringes,  and  watches,  and  gold  and  silver 
chains,  and  beautiful  portemonnaies,  and  clocks, 
and  jewelry  of  all  kinds,  and  ribbons,  and  opera 
glasses,  and  dressing  cases,  and  every  thing  you 
can  think  of." 

"Yes,"  said  Jennie,  "I  have  seen  all  such 
things  in  the  shop  windows  in  the  Palais  Royal 
and  in  the  Boulevards." 

"  Ah,  those  are  the  shops  where  they  sell  the 
things,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  but  these  shops  that  uncle 
George  and  I  went  to  see  are  where  they  make 
them.  We  went  to  one  place  where  they  were 
making  artificial  flowers,  and  such  beautiful 
things  you  never  saw.  The  rooms  were  full  of 
girls,  all  making  artificial  flowers." 

"Why  did  not  you  bring  me  home  some  of 
them  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

/'Why  — I  don't  know,"  replied  Rollo.  "I 
did  not  think  to  ask  if  I  could  buy  any  of  them. 

"  Then,  after  we  had  gone  about  in  the  work- 
shops till  we  had  seen  enough,  we  went  to  the 
Louvre  to  see  the  paintings  ;  though  on  the  way 
we  stopped  to  see  a  creche" 

Rollo  pronounced  the  word  very  much  as  if  it 
had  been  spelled  crash. 

*'  A  crash ! "  exclaimed  Jenr.ie.  "  Did  a  build 
ing  tumble  down?" 


208  Rollo   in  Paris. 

A  criche.  The  babies  in  the  public  nursery 

"  0,  no,"  said  Rollo,  "  it  was  not  that.  It  was 
a  place  where  they  keep  a  great  many  babies. 
The  poor  women  who  have  to  go  out  to  work  all 
day  carry  their  babies  to  this  place  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  leave  them  there  to  be  taken  care  of, 
and  then  come  and  get  them  at  night.  There 
are  some  nuns  there,  dressed  all  in  white,  to 
take  care  of  the  babies.  They  put  them  in  high 
cradles  that  stand  all  around  the  room." 

"  Were  they  all  crying  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  0,  no,"  said  Rollo,  "  they  were  all  still. 
When  we  went  in  they  were  all  just  waking  up. 
The  nuns  put  them  to  sleep  all  at  the  same  time. 
Every  cradle  had  a  baby  in  it.  Some  were 
stretching  their  arms,  and  some  were  opening 
their  eyes,  and  some  were  trying  to  get  up.  As 
fast  as  they  got  wide  awake,  the  nuns  would 
take  them  up  and  put  them  on  the  floor,  at  a 
place  where  there  was  a  carpet  for  them  to  creep 
upon  and  play." 

"  I  wish  I  could  go  and  see  them,"  said  Jennie. 

"You  can,"  replied  Rollo.  "  Any  body  can  go 
and  see  them.  The  nuns  like  to  have  people 
come.  They  keep  every  thing  very  white  and 
nice.     The  cradles  were  very  pretty." 

"  Did  they  rock  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"No,"  replied  Rollo;  "they  were  made  to 
swing,  and  not  to  rock.     They  were  up  so  higb 


Rollo's  Narrative.  209 

The  gallery  uf  paintings  in  the  Lo-,vre. 

from  the  floor  that  they  could  not  be  made  to 
rock  very  well.  We  staid  some  time  in  this  place, 
and  then  we  went  away." 

"  And  where  did  you  go  next?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  We  went  to  the  Louvre  to  see  the  famous 
gallery  of  paintings.  It  is  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long,  and  the  walls  are  covered  with  paintings 
on  both  sides,  the  whole  distance." 

"Except  where  the  windows  are,  I  suppose," 
said  Jennie. 

"  No,"  replied  Rollo,  "  there  are  no  interrup- 
tions for  windows.  The  windows  are  up  high 
in  the  ceiling,  for  the  room  is  very  lofty.  There 
is  room  for  two  or  three  rows  of  paintings  below 
the  windows.     It  is  a  splendid  long  room." 

"  Were  the  pictures  very  pretty  ?  "  asked  Jennie 

"  Not  very,"  said  Rollo.  "  At  least,  I  did  not 
think  so  ;  but  uncle  George  told  me  it  was  a 
very  famous  gallery.  There  were  a  great  many 
other  rooms  besides,  all  carved  and  gilded  most 
magnificently,  and  an  immense  staircase  of  mar- 
ble, wide  enough  for  an  army  to  go  up  and  down. 
There  were  several  large  rooms,  too,  full  of 
ancient  marble  statues  ;  but  I  did  not  like  them 
very  much.  They  looked  very  dark  and  dingy. 
The  paintings  were  prettier  than  they. 

"  There  were  a  great  many  persons  in  the 
painting  gallery  at  work  copying  the  paint'ngs," 


210  Rollo   in  Paris. 

Learning  to  paint.  The  artists'  lessons. 

continued  Rollo.  "Some  were  girls,  and  seine 
were  young  men.  There  was  one  boy  there  not 
much  bigger  than  I." 

"  I  don't  see  how  so  small  a  boy  could  learn  to 
paint  so  well,"  said  Jennie. 

"  Why,  he  was  not  so  very  small,"  said  Rollo. 
"  He  was  bigger  than  I  am,  and  I  am  growing  to 
be  pretty  large.  Besides,  they  have  excellent 
schools  here  where  they  learn  to  draw  and  to 
paint.     We  went  to  see  one  of  them." 

"  Did  it  look  like  one  of  our  schools  ?  "  asked 
Jennie. 

"  0,  no,"  replied  Rollo  ;  "  it  seemed  to  me  more 
like  a  splendid  palace  than  a  school.  We  went 
through  an  iron  gate  into  a  court,  and  across  the 
court  to  a  great  door,  where  a  man  came  to  show 
us  the  rooms.  There  were  a  great  many  elegant 
staircases,  and  passage  ways,  and  halls,  with 
pictures,  and  statues,  and  models  of  cities,  and 
temples,  and  ruins,  and  every  thing  else  neces- 
sary for  the  students." 

"  Were  the  students  there  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  No,"  replied  Rollo  ;  "  but  we  saw  the  room 
where  they  worked,  and  we  saw  the  last  lesson 
that  they  had." 

"  What  was  it  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"It  was  a  subject  which  the  professor  gave 
them  for  a  picture  ;  and  all  of  them  were  to  paint 


Rollo's  Narrative.  211 

The  subject  selected  by  the  professor. 

a  picture  on  that  subject,  each  one  according  to 
his  own  iajas.  We  saw  the  paintings  that  they 
had  made.  There  were  twenty  or  thirty  of  them. 
The  subject  was  written  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  and 
put  up  in  the  room  where  they  could  all  see  it." 

"  What  was  the  subject  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  It  was  something  like  this,"  replied  Rollo : 
"  An  old  chestnut  tree  in  a  secluded  situation,  the 
roots  partly  denuded  by  an  inundation  from  a 
stream.  Cattle  in  the  foreground,  on  the  right. 
Time,  sunset." 

"  And  did  all  the  pictures  have  an  old  chestnut 
tree  in  them  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  and  the  roots  were  all  out 
of  the  ground  on  one  side,  and  there  were  cowg 
in  the  foreground  of  them  all.  But  the  forms  of 
the  trees,  and  the  position  of  the  cattle,  and  the 
landscape  in  the  back  ground  were  different  in 
every  one." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  them,"  said  Jennie. 

"  Then,"  said  Rollo,  "  when  we  came  away 
from  this  pjace  we  walked  along  on  the  quay  by 
the  side  of  the  river,  looking  over  the  parapet 
down  to  the  bank  below." 

"  Was  it  a  pretty  place  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  a  very  pretty  place  indeed. 
There  were  great  floating  houses  in  the  water, 
for  the  baths,  with  wheels  turning  in  the  current 


212  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  fisherman  on  the  bank  of  the  Seine  with  lines  to  let 

to  pump  up  water,  and  little  flower  gardens 
along  the  brink  of  the  stream.  At  least,  in  some 
places  there  were  flower  gardens  ;  and  in  others 
there  was  a  wall  along  the  water,  with  boys 
sitting  on  the  edge  of  it,  fishing.  Presently  we 
came  to  a  place  where  there  was  an  opening  in 
the  parapet  and  stairs  to  go  down  to  the  water 
You  go  down  two  or  three  steps  first,  and  then 
the  stairs  turn  each  way.  At  the  turning  there 
was  a  man  who  had  fishing  poles,  and  nets,  and 
fishing  lines  to  sell  or  let.  He  had  some  to  let. 
for  three  sous  an  hour.  I  proposed  to  uncle 
George  that  we  should  hire  two  of  them  and  go 
clown  and  fish  a  little  while." 

"  And  what  did  he  say  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  He  laughed,  and  said  that  Tor  him  to  spend 
his  time  while  he  was  in  Pai is  in  fishing  in  the 
Seine  would  be  pertectly  preposterous.  He  said 
that  his  time  in  Europe  cost  him  not  less  than  a 
dollar  for  every  hour." 

"  A  dollar  for  every  hour  ?  "  exclaimed  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Eollo.  "  He  says  that  his  two 
passages  across  the  Atlantic  will  have  cost  three 
hundred  dollars,  and  the  other  expenses  of  his 
tour  as  much  as  five  hundred  more,  which  makes 
eight  hundred  dollars,  and  that  he  will  not  have 
more  than  one  hundred  days,  probably,  from  the 
time  of  his  landing  in  England  to  the  time  of  his 


Rollo's  Narrative.  213 

The  value  of  Mr.  George's  time.  Rollo's  purchase. 

sailing  again.  That  makes  it  about  eight  dollars 
a  day.  Now,  there  are  not  more  than  eight 
hours  in  a  day  suitable  for  going  about  and  see- 
ing what  is  to  be  seen  ;  so  that  his  time  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  costs  him  a  dollar  an  hour ; 
and  he  could  not  afford,  he  said,  to  spend  it 
in  fishing. 

"  However,"  continued  Rollo,  "  he  said  that  1 
might  look  at  the  man's  fishing  apparatus  ;  and  if 
I  found  that  it  was  different  from  that  which  the 
boys  used  in  America,  I  might  buy  some  of  it  to 
carry  home." 

"  And  did  you?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Rollo.  And  so  saying,  he  put 
his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  took  out  a  small 
parcel  put  up  in  a  piece  of  French  newspaper. 
He  unrolled  this  parcel  and  showed  Jennie  what 
it  contained.  Jennie  sat  up  in  bed  very  eagerly 
in  order  to  see  it.  First  there  came  out  a  small 
net. 

"  This  net,  you  see,"  said  Rollo,  "  is  to  be  put 
upon  a  hoop  or  a  ring  of  wire  when  I  get  to 
America.  I  did  not  buy  a  hoop,  because  it 
would  fill  up  my  trunk  too  much.  But  I  can 
make  one  when  I  get  home. 

"  Then  here  are  the  fishing  lines,"  continued 
Rollo.  "  I  bought  two  of  them.  They  were 
very  cheap." 


214  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Fishing  apparatus.  Why  Jonnie  liked  a  net  better  than  a  hook. 

The  fishing  lines  were  very  pretty.  Each 
had  a  small  round  cork  upon  the  end  of  a  quill. 
The  corks  were  red,  touched  with  blue.  There 
was  a  sinker  for  each,  made  of  large  shot. 

"The  man  put  in  several  spare  sinkers  for  me," 
resumed  Rollo,  "  in  case  these  should  come  off." 
So  saying,  he  opened  a  small  paper  and  showed 
Jennie  several  large-sized  shot,  each  of  which 
had  a  cleft  in  the  side  of  it  for  putting  in  the 
line.  The  intention  was  that  the  lead  should  be 
closed  over  the  line,  after  the  line  had  been  in- 
serted in  it,  by  means  of  a  light  blow  with  a 
hammer,  and  thus  the  sinker  would  be  secured  to 
its  place. 

"  I  like  a  net  best  to  catch  fishes  with,"  said 
Jennie,  "  because  that  does  not  hurt  them." 

"  True,"  said  Rollo,  "  a  net  is  a  great  deal 
better  on  that  account.  You  see  I  put  a  hoop 
around  to  keep  the  mouth  of  the  net  open,  and 
then  fasten  it  to  the  end  of  a  long  handle.  Then 
you  stand  on  the  bank  of  the  brook  and  put  the 
net  down  into  the  water,  and  when  a  fish  cornea 
along  you  dip  him  up." 

"  Yes,"  said  Jennie,  "  that  is  an  excellent  way." 

"  Then  you  could  put  him  in  a  small  pail 
of  water,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  carry  him  home 
and  then  you  could  put  him  in  a  bowl  and  see- 
him  swim  about." 


Rollo's   Narrative.  215 

Rollo  describes  the  Church  of  Notre  Daine. 

"Yes,"  said  Jennie,  "I  wish  you  would  give 
[ne  this  net." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  will.  I  shall  go  down 
by  the  river  again  some  day,  and  then  I  can  buy 
another  for  myself." 

"  So  you  can,"  said  Jennie  ;  "  or,  if  you  don't 
get  another,  I  can  lend  you  mine  when  you  wish 
to  fish  with  it." 

So  Rollo  put  up  his  fishing  tackle  again,  and 
then  Jennie  asked  him  where  else  he  went. 

"  Why,  we  walked  along  the  quay,"  said  Rollo, 
"  a  long  way,  past  several  bridges,  until  at  last 
we  came  to  a  bridge  leading  over  to  an  island  in 
the  river,  where  there  was  a  great  cathedral 
church,  which  uncle  George  said  he  wished  to 
see.  It  was  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame.  It  was 
an  immense  great  church,  with  two  towers  very 
high  ;  but  it  was  very  old.  The  outside  of  it 
seemed  to  be  all  crumbling  to  pieces." 

"  Did  you  go  in  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Rollo.  . "  It  is  open  all  the  time, 
and  people  are  all  the  time  going  and  coming. 
We  went  in.  There  was  an  old  woman  sitting 
just  inside  the  door,  with  a  string  of  beads  in  her 
hands,  counting  them.  There  were  two  or  three 
other  old  women  there,  knitting.  I  could  not 
eee  much  of  the  inside  of  the  church  when  wo 
first  went  in,  there  were  so  many  columns ;  but  I 


216  Rollo  in  Paris. 

Birds  in  church.  The  congregation  at  Notie  Dame. 

could  hear  the  birds  flying  about  and  singing 
away  up  high  among  the  vaults  and  arches." 

"  The  birds  inside  the  church  !  "  said  Jennie.  "  I 
should  think  they  would  drive  them  out." 

"I  don't  know  how  they  could  drive  them 
out,"  said  Rollo,  "  it  was  so  high  up  to  where 
they  were  flying.  The  arch  of  the  ceiling  seemed 
like  a  stone  sky.  There  were  so  many  pillars  to 
keep  up  this  roor,  that,  when  we  first  went  in,  we 
could  not  see  any  end  to  the  church  at  all. 
However,  we  walked  along,  and  after  a  while 
we  came  to  the  end. 

"  There  were  a  great  many  curious  things  to 
see  in  the  church,"  continued  Rollo.  "  There 
were  a  great  many  little  chapels  along  the  sides 
of  it,  and  curious  images  sculptured  in  stone, 
and  people  doing  curious  things  all  about  in  dif- 
ferent places.  We  walked  about  there  for  half 
an  hour.     At  last  we  found  a  congregation." 

"  A  congregation  !  " 

"Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  we  came  to  a  place,  at  last, 
which  was  divided  off  by  a  kind  of  railing ;  and 
there  was  a  congregation  there,  sitting  in  chairs. 
Some  were  kneeling  in  chairs,  and  some  were 
kneeling  on  the  stoue  floor.  They  were  reading 
in  little  prayer  books  and  looking  about." 

"  Was  any  body  preaching  to  them  ?  "  asked 
Jennie. 


Rollo's   Narrative.  217 

Eollo  and  Mr.  George  visited  the  site  of  the  Bastile. 

•'  No,"  said  Rollo,  "  but  there  were  some  priests 
at  the  altar  doing  something  there  ;  but  I  could 
not  understand  what  they  were  doing.  We 
stopped  there  a.  little  while,  and  then  we  came 
away.  We  walked  along  to  another  part  of  the 
church,  and  at  length  we  came  to  another  en- 
closure, where  a  great  many  people  were  col- 
lected. Mr.  George  went  up  to  see  what  it  was, 
and  he  said  he  believed  it  was  a  baptism  ;  but  I 
could  not  get  near  enough  to  see." 

"And  what  did  you  do  next?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Why,  we  came  out  of  the  church,  and  crossed 
over  by  a  bridge  to  this  side  of  the  river,  and 
then  walked  down  along  the  quay  till  we  came 
to  a  place  where  there  was  a  tall  bronze  column, 
somewhat  like  this  column  in  the  Place  Ven- 
dome.  Uncle  George  said  that  he  wished  to  see 
it,  because  it  stood  on  the  place  where  a  famous 
old  castle  and  prison  used  to  stand  in  former 
times,  called  the  Bastile.  He  said  that  the 
people  made  an  insurrection  and  battered  the 
old  prison  down,  because  the  government  was  so 
cruel  in  shutting  up  innocent  prisoners  in  it. 
They  built  fires  against  the  doors,  and  battered 
n.gainst  them  with  heavy  timbers  until  they  broke 
them  in,  and  then  they  let  the  prisoners  out  and 
set  the  prison  on  lire.  Uncle  George  said  that 
L  should  take  great  interest  in  reading  about  it 


218  Rollo   in   Paris. 

The  bronze  column.  The  man  with  the  tin  box. 

one  of  these  days  ;  but  I  think  I  should  like  to 
read  about  it  now." 

"I  should,  too,"  said  Jennie. 

"  They  afterward  took  away  all  the  stones  of 
the  Bastile,"  continued  Rollo,  "  and  made  this 
tall  bronze  column  in  its  place.  There  is  a 
figure  of  a  man  on  it,  standing  on  tiptoe." 

"I  should  think  he  would  blow  down  in  a  high 
wind,"  said  Jennie. 

"  I  don't  know  why  he  does  not,  I  am  sure," 
rejoined  Rollo.  "  I  wanted  to  go  up  to  the  top 
of  the  column  and  see  how  he  was  fastened  there  ; 
but  uncle  George  said  he  was  too  tired.  So  we 
came  away.  In  fact,  I  was  very  willing  to  come 
away,  for  I  saw  a  great  crowd  at  a  certain  broad 
place  on  the  sidewalk,  not  far  from  there,  arid  I 
wished  to  go  and  see  what  it  was." 

"  And  did  you  go  ?  "  asked  Jennie. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Rollo,  "  and  I  found  it  was  a 
man  who  had  made  a  great  ring  of  people  all 
about  him,  and  was  trying  to  get  them  to  give 
fifteen  sous  to  see  him  shut  himself  up  in  a  small 
box.  The  box  was  on  the  pavement,  all  ready. 
It  was  quite  small.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that 
a  man  could  be  shut  up  in  it." 

"How  big  was  it?"  asked  Jennie. 

"0,  I  don't  know,  exactly,"  said  Rollo.  "It 
was  quite  small." 


Rollo's   Narrative.  210 

Performance  on  the  Boulevards.  Music 

"Was  it  no  bigger  than  that,"  said  Jenniev 
holding  her  two  hands  a  few  inches  apart,  so  as 
to  indicate  what  she  would  consider  quite  a 
small  box. 

"  0,  yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  it  was  a  great  deal  big- 
ger than  that.     It  was  only  a  little  smaller  than 


PERFORMANCE  ON  THE  BOULEVARDS. 

you  would  think  a  man  could  get  into.  The  box 
was  square,  and  was  made  of  tin,  but  painted 
black. 

"  There  was  an  organ  at  one  end  of  the  ring, 
with  a  man  playing  upon  it.  to  draw  the  crowd 


220  Rollo   in   Paris, 


A  strange  way  of  earning  a  livelihood. 


together.  In  front  of  the  organ  was  a  woman, 
with  a  baby  in  her  arms,  and  another  little  child 
playing  about  her.  The  man  said  that  this  was 
his  family,  and  that  he  had  to  support  them  by 
his  experiments.  In  front  of  the  woman  was 
the  box.  In  front  of  the  box  was  the  man,  who 
stood  there,  generally,  telling  what  he  was  going 
to  do,  and  calling  upon  the  people  to  throw  in 
their  sous.  In  front  of  the  man  was  a  carpet, 
on  the  pavement,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  carpet 
a  tin  plate.  From  time  to  time  the  people  would 
throw  sous  over  into  the  circle.  The  man 
would  then  pick  them  up  and  put  them  into  the 
plate,  and  tell  the  people  how  many  there  lacked. 
There  must  be  fifteen,  he  said,  or  he  could  not 
perform  the  experiment.  He  kept  talking  all 
the  time  to  the  people,  and  saying  funny  things 
to  make  them  laugh. 

"  At  last  all  the  fifteen  sous,  were  in,  and  then 
the  man  went  to  the  box.  He  brought  out  a 
soldier  who  was  standing  among  the  people,  and 
placed  him  near  the  box,  so  that  he  might  shut 
the  cover  down  when  the  man  was  in.  The  man 
then  stepped  into  the  box.  The  upper  edge  of 
it  was  not  higher  than  his  knees.  He  then  began 
to  kneel  down  in  the  box,  crossing  his  legs  under 
him  ;  and  then  he  crouched  his  body  down  into 
it,  and  curled  in  his  head,  and  then 


Rollo's   Narrative 


221 


Rollo's  story  puts  Jennie  to  sleep. 


"  Jennie  !  "  said  Rollo,  interrupting  himself. 
He  observed  that  Jennie  was  very  still,  and  he 
was  not  sure  that  she  was  listening. 

Jennie  did  not  answer.     She  was  fast  asleep. 

"  She's  gone  to  sleep,"  said  Rollo,  "  withoul 
hearing  the  end  of  the  story.  However,  the 
soldier  put  the  lid  down,  and  shut  the  man 
entirely  in." 

Rollo  thought  that,  as  he  was  so  near  the  end, 
he  might  as  well  finish  the  story,  even  if  his 
auditor  was  asleep. 


222  Hollo   in  Paris, 


Kollo  receives  an  invitation  to  visit  Switzei'.am!, 


c  haptee  xi. 
Conclusion. 

Rollo's  adventures  in  Paris  were  brought,  at 
length,  for  the  time  being,  to  a  somewhat  abrupt 
termination,  by  an  invitation  which  he  received 
suddenly  at  breakfast  one  morning,  from  his  uncle 
George,  to  set  off  with  him  the  next  day  for 
Switzerland.  Hollo  was  very  eager  to  accept 
this  invitation  from  the  moment  that  it  was 
offered  him.  It  is  true  that  he  was  not  at'  all 
tired  of  Paris  ;  and  there  were  a  great  many 
places,  both  in  the  city  and  in  the  environs,  that 
he  was  still  desirous  to  see. 

Rollo  had  only  one  day's  notice  of  the  pro- 
posed journey  to  Switzerland,  and  that  day  was 
spent  almost  entirely  in  getting  the  passports 
ready.  This  business  devolved  on  Rollo  himself. 
as  his  uncle  was  engaged  in  some  other  way  thai 
day;  and  he  proposed,  therefore,  that  Rollo  should 
undertake  the  work  of  getting  the  passports 
stamped.  Rollo  accordingly  did  so.  He  took 
a  carriage  and  went  round  to  the  various  offices, 


Conclusion.  223 

Getting  the  passports  ready.  The  restaurants  on  the  Boulevards. 

and  attended  to  the  business  very  well,  though 
he  encountered  some  difficulties  in  doing  it.  Hia 
uncle  George  was  very  much  pleased  when  he 
came  home  that  night  and  found  that  Rollo  had 
got  the  passports  all  ready.  Carlos  went  with 
Rollo  to  the  passport  offices,  for  company,  though 
he  could  not,  of  course,  render  him  any  assist- 
ance.* 

Rollo  dined  that  evening  with  his  uncle  George 
and  Carlos  at  a  restaurant.  There  are  hundreds 
of  these  restaurants  scattered  all  over  the  city 
of  Paris,  and  many  of  them  are  furnished  and 
decorated  in  a  style  of  splendor  that  is  magnifi- 
cent beyond  description.  Mr.  George  took 
Rollo  and  Carlos  to  one  of  the  finest  of  them. 
It  was  in  the  Boulevards. 

The  aspect  of  the  room,  when  Rollo  entered 
it,  was  very  imposing.  It  was  lined  on  all  sides 
with  mirrors,  with  carved  and  gilded  pilasters 
between  them,  and  a  richly  ornamented  cornice 
above.  The  ceiling,  overhead,  was  panelled, 
and  was  painted  in  fresco  with  the  most  grace- 
ful and  elegant  devices.  The  floor  was  laid  in  a 
beautiful  mosaic  of  wood,  brilliantly  polished. 
The  room  was  filled  with  tables,  all  set  out  for 

*  A  full  account  of  Rollo's  adventures  in  getting  the  passports 
Uamped  will  be  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  Rollo  in  Switzer- 
land. 


224  Rollo   in   Paris. 

Dinner  at  a  restaurant  in  Paris. 

dinner  in  the  nicest  manner,  with  silver  plate, 
elegant  porcelain,  and  glasses  that  reflected 
the  light  in  the  most  resplendent  manner.  A 
great  many  gay  groups  of  ladies  and  gentle- 
men were  seated  at  these  tables,  taking  dinner ; 
while  the  waiters,  with  snow-white  napkins  on 
their  arms,  were  walking  about  in  a  rapid,  but 
in  a  very  gentle  and  noiseless  manner,  to  wait 
upon  them.  At  the  back  side  of  the  room  there 
sat  two  beautiful  young  women,  behind  a  sort  of 
counter,  which  was  raised  a  little  above  the  rest 
of  the  floor,  so  that  they  could  survey  the  whole 
scene.  It  was  the  duty  of  these  young  women 
to  keep  the  accounts  of  what  was  ordered  at  the 
several  tables,  and  to  receive  the  money  which 
was  paid  by  the  guests,  the  waiters  carrying  it 
to  them  from  the  different  parties  at  the  tables 
when  they  paid.  These  ladies  were  the  presid- 
ing officers,  as  it  were,  in  the  saloon;  and  the 
guests  all  bowed  to  them  very  respectfully,  both 
when  they  came  in  and  when  they  went  away. 

Mr.  George  selected  a  table  for  himself  and 
the  two  boys,  and  they  had  an  excellent  dinner 
there.  There  was  a  printed  book,  large  though 
thin,  on  every  table,  giving  a  list  of  the  different 
articles — more  than  five  hundred  in  all.  From 
these  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  selected  what 
they  liked,  and  the  waiters  brought  it  to  them. 


Conclusion.  226 


Wtat  Rollo's  father  inferred  from  the  invitation  Rollo  received. 

The  party  remained  at  this  restaurant,  eating 
their  dinner  and  taking  their  coffee  after  it,  foi 
more  than  an  hour  ;  and  then  they  went  away. 

That  evening  Rollo  went  into  his  father's 
room  to  bid  his  father  good  by,  for  he  expected 
to  set  off  for  Switzerland  the  next  morning  very 
early.  He  found  his  father  sitting  in  an  arm 
chair  by  a  window,  reading  a  book.  Mr.  Holi- 
day laid  his  book  down  and  talked  for  some 
time  with  Rollo  about  his  proposed  tour  in 
Switzerland,  and  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  pre- 
paratory information  about  the  mountains, .  the 
glaciers,  the  torrents,  the  avalanches,  and  other 
wonderful  things  that  Rollo  expected  to  see. 
Rollo  was  very  much  interested  in  these  ac- 
counts. 

"  I  am  very  glad  that  uncle  George  invited  mo 
vO  go  with  him,''  said  he. 

"So  am  I,"  said  his  father. 
•  "Because,"  added  Rollo,  "I  expect  to  have  a 
very  pleasant  time." 

"  True,"  replied  his  father  ;  "  but  that  is  not 
the  reason  precisely  why  /  am  glad  that  he  in- 
vited you." 

"What  is  your  reason,  then?"  asked  Rollo. 

"  I  am  glad,"  replied  Mr.  Holiday,  "  because 
his  asking  you  to  go  with  him  into  Switzerland 
is  a  sign  that  you  have  been  a  good  boy  while 


226  Rollo   in  Paris. 

A  pleasant  sign.  Good  by. 

under  his  care  here  in  France.  Boys  that  are 
eelfish,  troublesome,  and  disobedient,  in  one  ride 
or  journey,  find  usually  that  their  company  is 
not  desired  a  second  time.  It  is  now  two  or 
three  weeks  since  your  uncle  George  invited 
you  to  come  with  him  from  London  to  Paris, 
and  during  all  this  time  you  have  been  mainly 
under  his  care  ;  and  now  he  invites  you  to  go 
with  him  on  a  still  more  extended  tour.  I  think 
you  mkst  have  conducted  yourself  in  a  very  con- 
siderate or  gentlemanly  manner,  and  proved 
yourself  a  pleasant  travelling  companion,  or  you 
would  not  have  received  this  new  invitation." 

Rollo  was  very  much  gratified  at  hearing  his 
father  speak  in  this  manner.  So  he  shook  hands 
with  him,  and  bade  him  good  by. 


